


Today's Mischance; Tomorrow's Future

by XinaV



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: AU, Gen, Not as angsty as the title and summary may suggest, Oh but there's pain alright, Protect these lovely boys, Punishments, SM is terrible in this fic, Some violence/abuse, Special Abilities, They're still idols, nct 127
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-04
Updated: 2019-10-21
Packaged: 2019-11-12 04:32:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 40,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18003875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XinaV/pseuds/XinaV
Summary: SM Entertainment is known for producing great idols, the best of the best even.Most well-known idols come out of SM, making a big splash in the music industry. Even those who know very little about K-pop know of the name SM for whatever reason. The company takes pride in what they accomplish.But there’s more to SM than just entertainment.





	1. Today's mischance

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, thanks for choosing to read this fic. I really wanted to make a story for these boys because I love them so. Hope you can stay with me for the ride.
> 
> Note this is an AU that just takes place in the real world. I'm pretty sure I messed up science somewhere but oh well so do comics. I can assure you however that this story is not as angsty as the name and summary makes it sounds.

SM Entertainment is known for producing great idols, the best of the best even. 

Most well-known idols come out of SM, making a big splash in the music industry. Even those who know very little about K-pop know of the name SM for whatever reason. The company takes pride in what they accomplish.

But there’s more to SM than just entertainment.

They have a secret to their success, one that would put them in the ground if ever revealed. One that would never let them produce another idol again.

You see, they don’t just produce their idols, they create them.

For years they’ve been creating the perfect idols by using strict and unforgiving training. Ridiculous practice schedules, small diets, near impossible standards, and more. Failure is not an option for any idol and is dealt with immediately. Management makes sure that the failure and or mistake will never happen again, or at least not any time coming soon. Every SM idol has experienced their company’s “corrections” at least once in their career, not knowing what they’ve signed up for until it’s too late. The fans' jokes about a dungeon are not very far off from the truth; it might as well be a dungeon.

It’s become a taboo to speak of the ways of their company aloud. As far as everyone there is concerned, they just practice hard to be better and that’s it. Punishments consciously aren't acknowledged unless you’ve done something wrong or you’re by yourself with your group. When you see someone from a different group going to be set in line, you give them a silent prayer and then act as if you don’t know what’s about to happen.

No one ever tells the rookies what they are signing up for, despite how badly they want to. It’s better for them to live in ignorant bliss for a little than for them to immediately face the harsh reality of it all because once you’re in, there’s no getting out. Fear keeps them from trying and force keeps them from succeeding.

There was a story about a rookie who tried to expose SM’s ways once. They didn’t get far to say the least. It’s said they became a part of the office workers where management can watch them relentlessly. After hearing that story, with all it’s gory but ambiguous details, very few have considered exposing their company.

It’s just a fact of life for them all, they’re SM idols and they have to live with it for the sake of their sanity and for the love of their music. SM will never change its ways and they all know that.

But this time, the company tried something different.

This time they’re making tomorrow’s future for K-pop. The hope of the genre. A group that everyone will look at. They’re making the best of today and tomorrow. This time they couldn’t just make perfect stars, they had to make something beyond perfect. They had to make something so impossible that it became possible.

Enter in NCT.

Neo Culture Technology. They were going to make the future with this group if it was the last thing they did. But their regular tactics weren’t going to be enough for this project. They needed to up the ante.

So they did.

SM dabbled in some biology that the science world labeled as inhumane and life-risking, getting a firm grasp on DNA alteration knowledge and a few other bad things things. They then took a group of their NCT trainees and experimented on them, experimented on them like lab rats, making them more perfect than any rigorous training and punishment can do alone. They succeeded and gave them abilities to make them better than perfection. A true testament to them being the future.

They created exactly what they wanted.

Meet their test subjects:

Taeil the oldest of the group and part of the first group to go through these experiments. He's an empath, able to feel others' emotions clearly and make others feel emotions. It was reasoned that as the oldest in the group and one of the friendliest, he should be able to be there for his members emotionally and make them feel better no matter what, giving them one less thing to complain about. Too many of their idols say they lack emotional support and understanding from their company. With someone like Taeil in the group, that responsibility won’t fall on them. If you asked him what was the worse part of his experiment, he would tell you that it was the unrelenting feeling of his chest being torn, something that left him checking the mirror for days to see if his chest was actually torn.

Johnny was the second to last to be experimented on. He’s personable and well-spoken like no other. One can’t help but go along with whatever he says because there’s something about his words that make it impossible to resist. Management figured that with his ability to speak English and Korean fluently, and being from America adding to the popularity mix, if he can talk his way into anyone’s heart and mind then it would make talk shows and any public event better. He could also convince people to buy more merchandise, raising sales. His nightmare of the experiments is the fire in his vocal cords. He couldn’t even scream throughout the experiment even if he tried, and he did try.

Taeyong was also part of the first group to go through the experiments. He has the ability of telepathy. It was reasoned that as the leader, it is important for him to know his group's thoughts. It’ll make it easier for him to deal with them and know how to treat them. The worst part for him was skull-crushing headache he had to suffer through during the experiment. It was a pain like no other. It beat the onslaught of thoughts he heard after everything was done, and believe him that was hell in itself.

Yuta was another one part of the first experiment group. He has healing abilities. It was figured that it would be highly needed to have someone able to heal the other members so they don’t lose any precious time dealing with someone injured. Something went wrong with his experiment, however, because he fought back at one point. He didn’t know where he was, why he was strapped down to a table, or why there were a bunch of doctors hovering over him. They spoke rapidly to him in Korean and, due to the adrenaline beginning to rise in him, any knowledge of the language he had was thrown out of the window. He fought back throughout the experiment, causing them to mess up at one point. It wasn’t anything life threatening but due to it now not only can he heal but he can also break down the body. He doesn’t know if it was because it was messed up or if it was actually that terrible but he can’t remember the pain like the others can. He can only remember the pure fear of it all.

Doyoung was the third to last member to go through the experiments. He was given a high level of intelligence, surpassing even the smartest doctors that were working on him. Along with Johnny, he makes talk shows and other events go smoother. He is also sometimes used to talk about profit and sales, being of great use to the uppers. Like Taeyong the worst part for him was the headache he suffered through, though not to the degree Taeyong felt it.

Jaehyun, another one part of the first group, can slow down or stop time. This ability gives the group more time to practice anything particularly hard without losing track of their demanding schedule. The experiment for him was actually not the worst part. It was the aftermath of it. Everything felt like it moved so slow and it drove him insane not being in touch with time.

Winwin, who was also a part of the first group, has super strength. With him being a dancer, a visual, and receiving the least lines, giving him superior strength made the most sense to them since he would be using his body the most. Something also went wrong with his experiment though. Like Yuta, he fought back but in sheer fear. Understanding little Korean to begin with, being manhandled and talked to in a language he didn’t understand drove him up the wall with terror. The excruciating pain wrecking his bones that came along with his experiment did not help at all so he was practically fighting for his life to escape. The mistake in his experiment caused him to be incredibly sensitive to touch to the point where he hates it. Only a handful of people can touch him without warning him first and not get the consciousness punched out of them.

Jungwoo was the very last to go through the hellish experiments. He was given an unexplainable charm to him. He can charm a crowd without trying, causing people to buy more NCT march, raising sales. No one can ever figure out why they can’t but like this adorable ball of nerves. He remembers a frightening fog just fill his mind, the only thing he can remember about the experiment. For some reason, not knowing is more terrifying for him than knowing.

Mark, another one in the first group, has super speed. With him being in all three subunits, it was concluded that he has to be able to move quickly with everything he does or else he’ll get left behind. While it does make him seem a bit hyper, it can also help him in things such as speaking and rapping faster. The worst part for him was the convulsions his body went through. Sometimes it still feels like his body is still shaking that harshly.

Haechan, the youngest of them but still in the first group, can perfectly master anything he is taught. This allows him to always nail any choreography they have to perform or any he needs to know to impress someone important. For him, the experiment felt like an overload in his brain. It wasn’t the sharp stabbing pain Taeyong and Doyoung felt. His was just pressure and it felt terrible to him.

The ten of them makes up the group called NCT 127, becoming SM’s first, and what they hope is the last, group of idols with abilities.

Management chose 127 for the experiments because it was estimated that it will likely gain a higher popularity thanks to their loveable foreign members and talent running amock within it. Fortunately, only this subunit has these abilities because the experiments are really expensive and if done wrong can permanently damage a person, as found out thanks to multiple previous test subjects with no given name. When it came to the other subunits, the members of 127 pleaded with management not to let them suffer through the experiments. At first, management was not going to listen to them but a deal was struck and a compromise was made. Any new member of 127 must go through the experiment but anyone else in NCT will not, which is why Doyoung, Johnny, and Jungwoo went through the experiments. Every day they all hope that no one new will join their group if only just to save them from the torture they went through.

NCT 127 was something different and SM was going to use them.

It’s simple: they’re today’s mischance and tomorrow’s future.


	2. It's normal

On days like this one can’t help but to hate this company.

With their upcoming appearances on two shows, they’ve been worked to the bone for the past few weeks but today they were started at the crack of dawn. It’s now reaching half past noon and they’re far from being able to go relax. Oh no, dance practice is just starting.

Or it is supposed to be starting now. They’re missing a member.

Nine of them stand there, secretly happy that they get a standing moment of rest, trying not to anger their choreographer any further as they wait for Winwin to appear. It isn’t like him to be late to practice but he suddenly disappeared sometime during their last break and hasn’t returned yet. They can feel the frustration of their choreographer radiating off of him from being set back now. While they appreciate the moment to breathe, they can’t help but worry about what will happen if Winwin doesn’t show up soon.

No one dares to speak, knowing their place in this situation. It’s best to stay quiet until it’s a better time to speak. They also know not to try and start without him, the choreographer preferring to have all of them there at once so he only has to make corrections once. Starting with a member missing would be seen as disobeying an order and disobedience is not tolerated.

After three more minutes of tense silence, the choreographer finally breaks his still anger and stomps over to Taeyong. He has to look up a bit to make eye contact with the leader but he holds an air of authority that reminds Taeyong that he can’t afford to look down at him in any kind of way other than literal.

“Where is he! He is fifteen minutes late. My entire schedule is thrown off because of this,” the man says in anger, stabbing a finger at the leader’s chest.

Taeyong pays the action no mind, he knows not to. Instead, he decides to keep a clear face before responding.

“I don’t know, he didn’t tell me where he was going before he left. I’m sure he’ll be here soon,” he responds.

His face feels the sting before his mind registers that he was slapped. With the force of the hit, he knows he has a red mark on his face.

“I don’t want him to be here soon, I want him here now. What kind of leader can’t get his members here on time? This is unacceptable!” The choreographer exclaims.

Everyone stands there, not moving an inch as they watch the scene in front of them. It’s not the first time one of them has been hit during practice but it still makes them flinch a bit each time it happens. This time, though, they know no one did anything deserving of a hit, if anyone that would be Winwin but he’s not here right now and they wouldn’t wish that upon him, so Taeyong shouldn’t have been hit. They couldn’t say that though.

Taeyong stays calm as always, looking as if the hit didn’t hurt him as it did.

“He’ll be here soon. I’ll talk to him about his lateness and make sure it never happens again,” Taeyong says

His response isn’t what the choreographer wants to hear, however. He raises his hand to hit him again. Taeyong prepares himself for the hit just as the door opens in a rush.

Winwin scurries in and bows low in front of the choreographer.

“I’m sorry for my lateness,” he says, body still bowed.

The choreographer’s attention switches off of Taeyong and on to Winwin.

“Where the hell have you been? Do you think you can just be late to wherever you want?” He asks angrily.

Winwin shakes his head no while still bowed.

“I was asked to help carry equipment and didn’t finish in time. I apologize for taking so long and slowing everyone down,” he says.

With him being so strong, though only a handful knowing the truth behind his strength and that he’s only showing a fraction of it, a lot of people ask him for help to carry things. This time he was asked to help carry film equipment to a specific room. He can’t really say no to someone in a higher position than him so he had to help though he knew he would most likely be late to practice.

As somewhat expected but still not, the choreographer grabs Winwin’s hair and pulls him up. This time, everyone does flinch a bit more visibly at the action. They know how Winwin is with contact at times, especially when he isn’t expecting it. They are silently begging that he doesn’t snap or scream at the sudden rough pull.

To their great fortune, Winwin only hisses and goes up along the pull of his hair. He doesn’t respond in any other way than that and at the moment that’s a good thing.

“I’ll let you off with a warning this time them. Next time move quicker and be here on time,” the choreographer says, not letting go of Winwin’s hair yet.

“Yes sir, I’ll be better next time. Thank you for your consideration,” Winwin says through clenched teeth.

It’s taking all of his willpower to not rip the hand out of his hair. The touch is making his skin crawl and he wants it to stop.

Finally, his hair is let go of and he is allowed to join the others. Yuta immediately goes and stands next to him. He begins to card his hand through Winwin’s hair, letting his healing touch take away the feeling from the younger’s scalp. Winwin sighs in relief to have the crawling feeling slowly leave him.

“Now that everyone is finally here, we’ll get started now. Due to our starting late, you all will stay two hours extra than originally scheduled and you can thank your late member for that,” the choreographer says.

Two hours extra for being only twenty minutes late? That’s very unfair but they can’t say anything about that. No one is going to blame Winwin for that though, he was just doing what he was asked.

The choreographer claps his hands, a signal for them to get into place. When they’re all in place and ready, the music starts.

They go four hours of practicing, only being allowed to take one break per hour. It’s extremely tiring and they want to drop, which is saying something because they all have an unusual amount of stamina.

When it’s all over and they are finally allowed to go back to their dorms, they almost collapse before they even reach the door of their dorm. They make it inside however and then decide to drop.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I don’t want to hear another one of our songs until the day of that show,” Mark says from his spot on the literal floor.

“I’m with you on that one,” Haechan says from his spot next to Mark.

If they could just stay where they were the entire time, believe that they would.

On the opposite side of the room, Winwin and Taeyong are sitting in chairs, body feeling as dead as everyone else’s.

“I’m sorry hyung for causing this. I should have been quicker. I’m also sorry you got hit because of me,” Winwin says.

Taeyong gives him a smile in response and brushes off the apology.

“There’s nothing to apologize for. You were doing what you had to do. He was just impatient today. Besides, you practically ran here once I was finally able to reach your mind. You did nothing wrong,” Taeyong replies.

Once Winwin was in a certain proximity, he was able to reach his mind and tell him about how mad the choreographer was. Winwin responded immediately and then ran over to the practice room just in time to prevent him from getting slapped again.

“I should have been quicker though. If I was, maybe we wouldn’t have had to suffer the extra two hours,” Winwin says.

With a slow movement so the younger knows what’s happening, Taeyong puts his arm around Winwin.

“Don’t worry about it. In this company, we always have to do better each and every time. You did nothing wrong. Next time we’ll help you out or all come late if anything. Don’t think about it too much, there’s nothing we can do about it anyway,” he says.

Winwin gives a sound of understanding and makes a mental note not to try and think about it anymore. He gives the elder a smile in response.

“Winwinnie, come and watch an animation with me. We deserve it,” Yuta calls as he walks to their room.

Taeyong chuckles as Winwin gets up with a false sigh and heads to the room, slowing accepting that there’s going to be more of him pushing Yuta off than watching the animation.

Taeyong looks at his other members scattered about. He sees them gradually falling into their own space and doing whatever, relaxing the day's stress away. He smiles lightly at them.

They may be tired to their very bones but they’re going to be okay.


	3. There's no such thing as luck here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Slight violence and a broken bone. Nothing graphic or anything but just letting you guys know.

There are many reasons to dislike SM, the word ‘many’ being an understatement. But if anyone was to name them all, they’d be there for a long time.

Out of the long list of things to hate, one thing Mark hates a lot is being used like a work animal.

Because of his “blessing” of super speed, he’s usually sent out to do errands because of how quick he can move. Why wait for a package to be mailed to you when you can just send someone able to run to the post office a city over and back in under 5 minutes? Apparently, it’s better to risk getting caught than to wait like everyone else. He’ll _never_ understand the reasonings.

He hates having to run errands; it’s tiring when added on to his impossible schedule and makes him feel less like an idol and more like an intern. An underappreciated and overworked intern. He knows he can’t say no to the tasks but oh how he wishes he could. He didn’t sign up to be an errand boy, he signed up to be an idol. Then again, he didn’t sign up to be experimented on and have his DNA altered but that happened. Clearly, he should learn how to read the fine fine print better. Maybe he wouldn’t be in this situation if he did but that’s another regret for a different time.

Right now, he’s regretting not bringing an umbrella with him.

Foolish him thought that he could drop off the package he was given and be back before the rain shower happened. He was wrong, his fault for not checking the forecast, and the second he stepped out of the building, it started raining. It would have taken more time than he is given to go back to his dorm and grab an umbrella and then continue on from there. They wanted him out at a certain time and he had to be out. He’s regretting it though because no matter how fast he moves, he’s getting drenched by the rain.

He just has to accept it though because he’s reaching his destination soon.

He always has to slow down and become a lot more inconspicuous as he gets closer to where he has to be. While he can’t just walk up casually as an idol who is further away from home than possible without a car, he also can’t just speed and drop something off and act like no one is going to find a suddenly appearing package as strange. He has to be in the middle of the two for everything to go smoothly which he has a plan for.

And the mail truck is right on time.

The mail truck pulls up in front of the building where he needs to bring this package as he waits across the street. One good thing about this rain: fewer people are out making the risk of getting caught less. He waits for the mailman to stop the truck and to open the back. When the mailman goes in the back of the truck to grab the further packages, he moves.

He speeds across the street, dropping the package off in the truck and then leaving all in the blink of an eye. Fortunately, the package has postage and everything so it’s easy to believe it’s just another box that was forgotten about. And with it being from SM, it’s not really going to be questioned. The important thing is Mark’s job is done and the postman will bring in the package for him. No suspicious action on his part and lower risk.

Now he can run back and finally sit down for the day.

Out of the group, he and Winwin probably do the most errands thanks to their abilities. Winwin can carry pretty much anything and he can bring something anywhere is a short period of time. He doesn’t know what he would prefer though, doing the physical work he and Winwin have to do or the mental work Doyong and sometime Taeyong has to do. They do get to finish quicker than physical activities but being in close quarters with management for any amount of time is not fun at all. Both situations suck if he’s being honest so he guesses he’ll just take what he has.

It doesn’t matter much now though since all he has to do is go back to SM and confirm that he dropped off the package and then he’s home free.

He speeds off, obviously taking back roads and uncrowded streets so only a handful of people see a blur zoom pass them. When something moves quicker than your eye can catch, your mind tends to ignore it after a second or two. No one will be alarmed because he’s moving much too quick to be caught. He’s excited to get back home and he also knows he shouldn’t take too long to report back, both reasons that keep him moving fast.

A problem with moving at high speeds though is that sometimes your mind can’t see through the blur either.

It happens before anything could penetrate his mind in realization.

An unrivaled pain shoots up his left leg and he hits the ground, biting back a scream. It finally clicks in his mind when he hears the sound of tires screeching to a stop.

By some minuscule percentage of chance, a car hit him while he was running at such a high speed and damn does it hurt.

He rolls out of the way as quickly as he can, trying to ignore the pain in his leg as he does so. If the driver finds out he hit someone, an idol at that, that he couldn’t even see, Mark would be in A LOT of trouble.

He drags himself to the alleyway of the street he was running up. He sees the driver get out and curiously looking at her car and he silently thanks that even like this he can move quicker than the average person. He’s finally able to get his back to a wall and lets out a shuddering breath.

“Oh my god,” he breathes out in English as he looks at his leg.

Fractured. There’s no doubt in his mind that his bone is fractured and badly.

“I’m going to be in so much trouble if they find out,” he whispers in fear, running a hand through his hair.

Not only was he not paying attention, he got hit by a car, risked getting caught, and now has a broken leg. Four mistakes in one go, he’s gone for.

He notices the driver get back in her car, not finding what could have possibly stopped her car, and drive off. At least he won’t have to worry about being discovered. That doesn’t get him out of this predicament though.

Pain shoots up his body and he hisses. With pain like this, how could he think anything other than a broken leg? He was moving at such a high speed so he knows that doubled the force of the impact.

“What is my luck? How could this happen?” He asks through his pain.

The chance of anything hitting him is so small, it’s close to impossible. He’s done plenty of runs and has never been hit or stopped by anything, especially not a car. He’s fortunate that he’s built a bit differently than a regular person, that could have meant death for someone else. A broken leg is technically the least that could happen to him but still is really bad.

Especially considering the fact that he has to go back to SM.

He tries to breathe through the pain, knowing that he can’t stay here much longer.

“Maybe if I can get back quick enough, Hyung can heal me before I have to go report. What they don’t know won’t hurt them,” he says to no one but himself.

If his leg gets fixed then he won’t have to worry about getting such a bad punishment. He’d probably get in trouble for taking too long but that’s better than them knowing the four mistakes he did.

With that thought in mind, he makes it his resolve to get back to be healed.

“Come on Mark, you can do this.”

He tries to push himself off the ground, biting his tongue when he feels a consistent pulse of pain beat through him.

Out of all things to break, it just had to be his leg.

He pushes back the irony and pessimistic thoughts, choosing to focus more on continuing his attempt to stand. It takes him a bit, a very painful bit, but he finally is able to get himself standing while using the wall as support.

Step one completed.

“Now, hobble the entire way back and risk being caught and taking longer or run as fast as I can and feel a storm of pain the second I stop?” He asks himself.

Both sound like bad options to him. He doesn’t want to take any longer than needed because he really can’t afford to have management, or anyone else other than his group for that matter, find out about this. But if he forces his way at a high enough speed for his mind not to register the broken bone then he knows he’s going to be in ten times as much pain as he is in now. It’s a matter of picking his poison.

And he rather deal with running on a broken leg.

“You can do this. You can do this. You can do this. It just takes one step and you’re off. Ignore the pain and move,” he coaches himself.

He repeats over and over that it’s just one step and he pushes himself off the wall and onto unsteady feet.

“One step.”

He takes a deep breath, trying to mentally prepare himself for this. It’s now or never for him and he can’t afford never.

With that, he finally takes his shaky step.

The first few beats of running, he feels the pain of the dead leg being dragged in an improper way. With a normal person, this would be physically impossible. But he’s not normal and he was created to do the impossible.

After a bit, he doesn’t acknowledge the pain. He falls into a lopsided rhythm but a rhythm nonetheless. His main focus is getting back, though he is much more attentive to vehicles now. He’s determined to make no stops, not even for lights and people, time being against him.

He doesn’t keep track of his time but it feels like an eternity when he finally reaches the familiar area of his dorm. He wants to do nothing but slow down to give himself a break but he knows he can’t or else he won’t make it up to his actual dorm.

With a sigh of relief and pain, he makes it to the front door at long last. He just has to enter before the pain can reach his mind and overwhelm him.

He can finally be healed and end this pain.

Today is not his day though.

His face loses the feeling of all blood the second he opens the door.

His eyes meet with those of a representative from management, the big bosses rarely ever coming to deal with situations themselves, a sign that he’s in serious trouble. A bodyguard stands next to the man, confirming that he’s not getting away.

He briefly catches the sight of his group standing rigidly behind the man with the exception Taeyong and Jaehyun who are on the floor, Taeyong clearly unconscious in Jaehyun’s lap. The sight doesn’t register for long because agonizing pain overtakes him and he drops to the ground, clutching his leg in pain.

“Mark, nice to see that you’re back. It took you quite a long time to return. I see you really messed up your leg, care to explain how?” The representative says.

Mark knows he should respond but he can’t get anything past his mouth other than a sound of pain.

“I see. That’s okay, we found videos on how you broke your leg. When you took so long to return, we became worried so we searched the traffic cameras for you. Fortunately, we were able to obtain and erase the footage of you being hit by a car after you so recklessly didn’t pay attention,” the rep says in return.

Mark groans, half from the pain he’s experiencing and half from the fear coursing through him. He wasn’t getting away with this either way. They saw everything already. He’s not getting out of this.

“And to make the matters worse, you were going to try to get yourself healed before you came to report so you could avoid owning up to your mistakes. How terrible of you. We had to put your leader to sleep just so he couldn’t warn you and help you with your attempt in covering it all up. You’ve been very bad today, Mark,” the rep adds.

Through his pain he does acknowledge that it is his fault that Taeyong is unconscious. Not only did he get himself in trouble, but he also got another member hurt.

He whines through gritted teeth at the thought of it, pulling his leg closer to him. He messed up so badly.

“If that is all you have to say for yourself then I do believe it’s time to go. We simply cannot let this go without correction, you understand why,” the rep says, looking down to him with the same cold stare.

That’s the terrifying thing about the representatives, they’re professional to a fault. Sometimes being yelled at seems way less frightening than the cold calm professionalism of the representatives. They’re more chilling than the bosses themselves honestly because they’re the ones that embody punishment.

Fear overrides the pain as Mark sees the bodyguard step forward towards him. Like a wounded trapped animal, he tries to scramble his way to his feet in an attempt to get away. He can’t go back to punishment; he’s been so good lately. He doesn’t want to go through whatever they’re planning, especially not with a broken leg.

“Please no, I’m sorry. I’ll be more attentive, I won’t make another mistake. Please don’t take me,” he begs.

But the rep just smiles.

“What do you know, you can speak. I guess we can continue our conversation as we travel. You know better than to try and avoid correction. It’s for your own good,” the rep says.

He signals for the bodyguard to continue forward and Mark tries his hardest to get off the floor. He knows it’s useless but that doesn’t stop him from trying.

The guard grabs him and throws him over his shoulder with as much gentleness as a bullet. Mark makes eye contact with Haechan, who is currently being discreetly held back by Johnny from doing anything, and figures that he must look absolutely terrified if Haechan has such a scared expression on his face.

The rep leaves first and the guard follows behind him. Mark finally goes limp in the hold, accepting that he isn’t going anywhere but to be punished. That doesn’t stop the fear from gnawing at him on the inside. If anything, it makes it all the more worse.

The trip to the “correction room” blurs in an anxiety raising way. It’s a trip he’s unfortunately made a few times in his idol career but each time it’s still as frightening as the first. The part that always stays in his mind, other than the room itself, is the long dark and dreary hallway that leads to the room. It’s like walking to the slaughterhouse and knowing you’re doing so.

Though this time he’s being carried down it instead of walking himself. This feels much worse than him walking to the room on his own; it makes his heart pound worse. There's no choice in this whatsoever.

They finally reach the room, door locking behind them with a threatening clank.

Mark is dropped on the ground and he has to bite back the hiss from slipping out of his mouth.

“Now Mark, you know why you are here. You were extremely reckless today. You have a show appearance so soon and yet you allowed yourself to gain a broken leg. Not only that but you tried to hide it and still returned late. Your reckless actions affect others and make the company look bad. I hope you do understand that this can never happen again,” the rep says, once again looking down at Mark’s hurting figure on the ground.

“Yes, yes I understand. I’ll be on my best. The show will go smoothly, I’ll represent the company well. I’m sorry for my foolish actions, I don’t know what I was thinking. I’ll never do it again,” Mark replies.

Maybe if he tells him everything he wants to hear, the punishment will be less. Maybe just maybe he could elicit some compassion.

He should know it’s stupid to have hope in these situations.

The rep suddenly stomps on his broken leg, facial expression never changing. Mark screams.

“Of course you won’t,” he says.

The rep snaps and the bodyguard steps forward.

It’s at this moment Mark realizes what’s going to happen.

He tries to pull himself away, anything to save him from what’s about to happen. There’s nowhere to hide and no way to run though. He’s stuck there.

His heart seizes as the guard steps in front of him, his only warning before it began.

The big burly man who is practically twice his size, if not more, kicks his broken leg with full force as if it was a soccer ball. Maybe it’s his imagination, but Mark swears he can hear breaking sounds coming from his leg.

He lets out a loud piercing scream as unbearable pain flares up his leg. 

He doesn’t get a moment’s rest to even cry over the pain.

Another hard kick is given to his leg followed immediately by a bone-crushing stomp. Mark doesn’t think he can scream any louder, knowing that if the walls weren’t soundproof they would hear him from the upper floors and all the way to the dorms.

Over and over his broken leg is abused. If he thought he couldn’t walk properly before, he knows that it’ll be impossible now. The pain is searing and he wants nothing more than to pull his leg in and protect it from the assault. But even that hurts too much to do. He knows better than to cry in front of the rep so he tries to keep his tears at bay, opting to just scream his lungs out instead. And scream he does.

He loses count of how many hits he receives, a dangerous thing to do, and prays he isn’t asked to recite a number afterward. It feels never-ending. All he can think of is the absolute sheer pain trapped inside of him.

After an eternity of abuse and pain, the rep finally holds up his hand as a signal to stop. Immediately the guard stops, leaving Mark huddled into himself releasing sharp breaths and small whimpers.

“I think you understand now the weight of your mistake,” the rep says.

Frantically Mark nods over and over. If he wasn’t in so much pain, he’d be at the man’s feet bowing his head and promising to be better than an angel. He’d do anything to make sure this man doesn’t change his mind and continue this torture.

“That’s good to know. The next time you think you’re in pain, remember what true pain feels like. Don’t ever let something as small as a broken leg make you late again or next time you won’t receive such mercy. Now, since I’m feeling generous today, you’ll be brought back to your dorm instead of having to walk there,” the rep says, looking at Mark as if he didn’t just completely destroy his leg.

Mark ignores it though, taking what happened as mercy as he is supposed to do. He nods once more, whimpering out multiple thanks. His dorm is an entire building away, there’s no way on Earth, Heaven, or Hell he’d be able to make it back on his own but he’ll once again accept it as compassion.

The guard manhandles him again, throwing him over his shoulder like a rag doll. It’s the last thing he’s able to focus on before he completely gives himself to the pain.

He doesn’t know what happens in the world around him; all he can think of is his leg. It feels like he can feel pieces of the bone move around inside. Some feel like they’re pricking his skin and others feel like they’re just loose. It may be his mind playing tricks on him in the midst of his agony but as far as he’s concerned it’s all real.

His mind does acknowledge, however, the feeling of him being switched into a different position, being carried bridal style with a lot more care. It also acknowledges when he’s on something soft and next to a source of heat. But nothing actually registers in his head until he feels an immense feeling of calmness seep into him.

Sounds suddenly stop and that’s when he realizes he actually _was_ crying throughout it all.

As if he had a covering over his eyes, his vision clears up and he sees that he’s in Taeil’s arms as the older whispers comforting words in his ear, the source of the sudden calmness.

“It’s okay now. You’re safe and you're with us. Yuta is going to heal your leg and you’ll feel all better. You don’t have to cry,” Taeil says to him softly.

He’s thankful for Taeil’s abilities because otherwise, he’d still be a crying mess right about now. Though this calm in him is far from natural, it isn’t unwanted.

He looks away from Taeil and notices Yuta by his destroyed leg. He seems to be waiting for something.

“Is it okay for me to touch it now? It’ll hurt in the beginning but it will get better,” Yuta says.

Mark doesn’t know if he’s talking to him or Taeil but either way, Taeil answers.

“I think he’s calm enough now. I have him so he should be fine while you heal him,” Taeil responds.

The soothing effect of Taeil’s voice doesn’t fade as he talks to Yuta, if anything it increases. This is his sedation and they’re about to operate on his leg.

Yuta carefully puts his hands on Mark’s leg, the younger still hissing at the touch. While it doesn’t hurt as bad as it would have without Taeil’s assistance, it still hurts enough for him to want to pull his leg away. Taeil must have noticed that too.

“No no, it’s okay Mark. Yuta isn’t going to hurt you, he’s going to heal you. You’ll be just fine in a few minutes if you just stay still for him, I promise,” Taeil says.

A bit more calmness wraps around him and he doesn’t feel like flinching away anymore. He sinks into Taeil’s embrace as Yuta begins to work on his leg.

His mind stops hearing the rattling of the pieces of his bone. His skin no longer feels the pricking of bone shards. It’s as if he can slowly feel his bone coming back together. It feels nowhere near as painful as when it broke.

He feels Taeil move slightly and then hears footsteps come close to them. He takes it as Taeil called someone over. His idea is confirmed when Johnny bends down in front of him, careful to not disrupt a focused Yuta.

“You should sleep now, Mark. You’ll feel better when you wake up, I’m sure of it,” Johnny says.

Mark knows the pull of Johnny’s power. He knows the difference between him talking regularly and him using his power. There’s no feeling that can come close to when Johnny’s words wrap their way around you; it’s just something that has an indescribable feeling.

He doesn’t fight the pull though, letting his eyes begin to droop. A little sleep won’t be bad. He’s back home, he’s with his group, and nothing will happen to him here.

He’s safe now, if only for this moment.


	4. The show must go on

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The host in this chapter has no name because he doesn't deserve one (you'll see what I mean).

The day of the first show appearance is finally here and man was it hell waiting for it to arrive.

Ever since Mark came from back from punishment, the air has been charged with an anxious energy. As expected, Mark was really jumpy after it all. It wasn’t hard for any of them to figure out that his punishment was toward his broken leg and though his leg was healed completely he still held it to him sometimes as if he could still feel the pain. The only time he didn’t look like he was feeling ghost pain was when they were at dance practice, the focus more being on not making a mistake over anything else.

It wasn’t just him who was worried about it all either.

A member being punished days before a television appearance plus a harder training schedule equals a recipe for anxiety. Everyone was on edge, knowing that they can’t afford any more bad things to happen especially at this time. They have to be prepared—physically, mentally, and emotionally—if they want this show to go right. Seeing the way Mark came back reminded them how bad punishment is.

They didn’t tell him this but they put him to sleep that day, not just to keep him calm and still, but to prevent him from seeing the extent of damage on his leg. It was bloody and bruised, changing colors no human should ever be. There was a rise in the skin at one part, hinting that a piece of his bone was trying to break through. It was just a terrible sight to see that he was fortunate enough to miss. The tears in his eyes definitely helped prevent him from seeing it but for them to make sure, they had Johnny lull him to sleep. Him seeing his leg would have most likely scarred him more. It definitely scarred them.

With the sight of Mark’s leg in the back of their mind, no one wanted to be SM’s next victim. They’ll be as good as lambs and as functioning as machines if it means getting through this without any more additional nightmares.

If anyone felt the pressure the most, it most likely is Taeyong.

As leader, not only does his mistakes fall on him but also the mistakes of his members. If anything with this show goes wrong, it will be partially his fault and he will be punished as well. There are only a few acceptances to this where he’ll be spared but those situations are rare so he has to make sure everyone is on their best behavior.

He has confidence in his group. He has no confidence in SM’s leniency. See the difference?

So as he has been doing for the past few days, and anytime they have to go out in public, he’s been helping out his members to make sure they’ll meet the impossible expectations of them as he bottles up his nerves inside. Everyone looks to him during times like these, he can’t be freaking out with them. He has to be calm and collected to help them feel more at ease and then he can freak out when he’s alone. The only person who always knows how much he’s actually freaking out is Taeil but that’s to be expected from the empath. Needless to say, Taeil is often there to also help calm him down.

Right now, the ten of them are waiting for their cue to go on. Taeyong is keeping the mood light, having already given them their reminders on how this show needs to go, doing all that he can to help their nerves. The show will start soon and they will go out and be the bright NCT that they originally were—before SM ruined them.

Thinking ahead, it should be a relatively easy show. For the most part, they’re just going to be sitting down talking, most likely getting up only a handful of times to show something like a dance or someone’s talent. There’s not much chance to mess up in that case. Talking and being personable is what they are good at. That’s literally Johnny’s power. No one can resist Jungwoo’s charm so the host is bound to love him. Yuta and Winwin are absolutely adorable when they breathe let alone smile so that’s great for the cameras as well. With those four alone they’re bound to win hearts and he didn’t even begin to mention what Haechan, Mark, Doyoung, Taeil, and Jaehyun can do. Theoretically speaking, this should go smoothly without them having to try too hard.

Taeyong is hoping that his theory is true because then that takes a lot of nerves off of them all. The less nervous they are the better.

The director counts down and the show begins. It’s only so long before they have to go on, the host having to do some semi-long introduction first.

Taeyong looks over to Mark who is bouncing his leg a little faster than he should in public. He knows the younger is a lot more nervous about this show than he has ever been for any other. He believes that if he messes up, he’ll be back in the “correction” room and dealing with another hurt leg, and he has learned that a hurt leg is the worst thing to have as a speedster.

_ ‘Don’t worry Mark, you’ll do great. I’ll be sitting next to you the whole time and we’re going to be fine,’  _ Taeyong tells Mark in his mind.

Though it isn’t explicitly said, the message that if Mark gets in trouble then he’ll be right there with him is clear. They all know what Taeyong risks as leader and know that when it comes down to punishments, if he’s there, he’ll take the brunt of it if he can. Especially if it’s for one of the youngest in the group.

Mark visibly takes comfort in the solidarity and takes a deep breath to calm himself down a bit. He gives Taeyong and nod in response, making Taeyong feel that he did his job well.

“And now I’d like to welcome NCT 127!”

Everyone puts on their brightest smiles and walk out to the stage, waving to the in house audience and giving hearts to the camera. They take their seats, Johnny being the closest to the host for obvious reasons, and respectfully wait for the crowd to stop clapping.

“It’s nice to have you here today with us,” the host says.

“Thank you, it’s a pleasure to be here,” Johnny replies.

As usual, they’re asked to go around and introduce themselves. Taeyong feels a sense of pride and happiness when Mark next to him gives the camera a warm and cheerful hello, glad that he’s able to swallow his nerves even if it’s only a little. That’s all he hopes for his members right now, that they can swallow their nerves for a bit and try to have some enjoyment in this.

There’s something about this host, though, that makes Taeyong uneasy, something he can’t put his finger on. Just by the way he is talking to them a bit too artificially send off alarms in Taeyong's head. Maybe for a TV personality this is normal but a natural feeling isn't being given strongly right now.  But he chooses to ignore it for the sake of nerves and so not to alert any of the others, especially not Taeil who probably already sensed his uneasiness. 

The show continues on without a hitch. They’re asked the basic questions—what does NCT stand for, how many subunits are there, why is Mark in three subunits and so on and so forth— they do the normal ‘do you know your songs and choreography stuff’, and asking to show talents. Winwin’s flexibility is once again tested, Mark’s ability to speed rap is shown, Taeil’s raw singing voice wows the crowd, and a few other things. It’s going well and that’s all they could hope for.

Then it goes wrong.

“Are you always so nervous?”

The question is directed at Jungwoo but the tone of it doesn’t sound like innocent curiosity.

Jungwoo seems a bit surprised at the question, they all are, but answers it nonetheless.

“Uh yes,” he responds with a little nod.

“Then how do you survive during concerts? Some nervousness is fine but you’re absolutely terrible at hiding yours,” the host says.

The comment throws them in a loop a bit. Now they know for sure that comment wasn’t an innocent anything. He’s coming at Jungwoo and for no reason. Taeyong knew something wasn’t right with this host.

_ ‘Ignore his comment, you’re doing great,’ _   Taeyong says in Jungwoo’s mind after catching a stray thought of doubt from him.   


“Jungwoo does really great on stage actually, it’s almost as if he wasn’t nervous at all. Some of us just had more experiences on shows than others,” Yuta responds, coming to Jungwoo’s help.

Jungwoo seems comforted at Yuta responding for him, saving him from having to deal with that comment.

But Yuta responding for Jungwoo doesn't seem to stop the host.

“Yes, that is true. You, Yuta, have been in 127 since the debut song Fire Truck. I think it’s safe to say the only thing that has changed about you since then is your jaw,” the host says as if it was the most normal thing to say.

The air quickly becomes charged and no one responds to the comment. Even the audience look as if they can feel the electricity in the air.

_ ‘No one answer on that. He’ll probably use it as fuel or choose to attack you next. He clearly is doing this on purpose, probably for the ratings,’ _ Taeyong says to everyone.

They all listen to him but he knows they aren’t happy about it. Silence takes place for maybe five seconds before the host speaks again.

“Speaking of things that have and haven’t changed, Winwin, I’ve heard your Korean has gotten much better since when you first debuted,” he says continuing on casually.

Knowing it to be improper to not respond at all for a second time in a row, Winwin nods and says yes.

“That’s good to hear. It’s a shame we don’t get to hear much of it since you have virtually no lines in any of your songs. You, Yuta, Johnny, and Jungwoo get the least amount of lines in every song you are in. It’s a good thing you four make great visuals,” the host says.

At that moment, the crowd boos the comment. Any NCTizen will tell you how much it hurts that the line distribution sucks and that it is not cool to bring it up to them. Call out SM, not the artists.

Taeyong tries hard not to clench his jaw as he hears Winwin’s self-deprecating thought on the host’s ill-advised comment. This host is taking it too far.

_ ‘Don’t listen to him, Winwin, he’s just being antagonistic,’ _ Taeyong says.

He’s being extremely antagonistic and for no reason. Does he find it funny or entertaining to do so? Everyone can assure him that it’s anything but.

“You all make good visuals actually, something your fan base readily says, even you Taeil,” the host says.

The crowd immediately boos once again at the comments, now muttering things aloud. Taeyong watches as the cameras turn to the crowd to show the displeasure of the audience. He uses it as his chance to throw a cutting glare at the host. He’s thoroughly satisfied when he sees the man shiver slightly. It’s what he deserves after getting Taeil to think that thought he just had. Actually, he deserves worse for making all his members feel down and uncomfortable.

When the cameras turn back to them, Taeyong fixes his face as if he wasn’t trying to kill the man with his glare.

“I apologize, it seems the crowd didn’t appreciate that comment. I must say though, Taeyong you have quite the intimidating factor to you. That must be the reason why you are the leader. With so many foreigners in your group and different personalities, you must be able to keep everyone together and functioning,” the host says.

Taeyong doesn’t know if that’s an insult directed at him or the foreigners in their group but either way it’s another insult. This man just doesn’t seem to get the hint.

“Actually, we get along and function quite well even without a leader. Our differences in personality are what helps us get along. I don’t think I’ve ever been called intimidating before though. You must get scared easily then if you think I’m threatening,” Taeyong replies casually.

The audience cheers at his response, some even laughing. He thinks they were waiting for someone to try and set this host in his place. And clearly, his comment did affect the host because the man turns a light shade of red at the laughter.

_ ‘Hyung, you have to be careful with comments like that. I know he deserves it but this show is going bad already, we don’t want them adding more reasons to punish us,’ _ Mark thinks in his mind, knowing Taeyong will hear it.

Taeyong knows that Mark makes a valid point. This show is going terribly and to SM, NCT is the one that looks bad, not the host. They’re most likely going to get in trouble for this—or at least SM can try, Taeyong isn’t letting them get punished for this— so they don’t need him adding any fuel to the fire.

_ ‘Johnny, get him to stop before I end up saying worse to him. We’re going to be in hot water if he continues,’ _ Taeyoung says to Johnny, knowing that he’s close to really cutting down the host with his words.

Johnny discreetly nods in understanding and speaks before the host can reply to Taeyong’s comment.

“We really get along better than most would think for ten people constantly together. We also never have a boring day together since we’re different from each other,” Johnny says as if he’s only adding on to Taeyong’s comment.

They know better though.

None of them miss the glaze that falls over the host’s eyes. He’s caught in Johnny’s voice and he’s not getting out any time soon.

Johnny must have put a bit more into his words this time to make sure the man couldn’t even try to fight it.

“Do you now?” The host says.

Considering Taeyong already made a comment that shut him up a bit and the fact that the audience is not happy, it doesn’t stand out very much that an insult didn’t come out this time.

“Yes, we do. Mark and Haechan get along really well and play games together. Taeil and Taeyong cook dinner together sometimes. Yuta is practically always watching shows with Winwin. We just all get along and it’s nice that we do.” Johnny responds.

They know the man is fully wrapped by Johnny’s words now because his eyes are completely fazed out. This should go a bit smoother now.

The rest of the time goes without any insults. They didn’t have to stay for much longer because the director decided to cut it short due to the audience agitation from the previous comments. For the sake of everyone, the time was cut.

The director personally comes and apologizes to them for the host's behavior. While the apology is nice, it doesn’t help any with the case they’re about to go through. They just know a rep is waiting for them.

“We’re in trouble now, aren’t we?” Jungwoo asks.

Everyone has the same tense look. The show did go terribly and that probably means SM now looks “bad” as management would say. They wouldn’t get away scot-free after this.

But Taeyong knows that in no way shape or form was it any of his members' fault which means technically nothing needs to be corrected. They couldn’t do anything about what the host said and nothing was said rudely in return, not even his comment. He’s not going to let them take a punishment when they didn’t do anything to warrant it at all.

“Don’t worry about that. Let’s just go home,” Taeyong responds.

The ride back to their dorms is silent. Taeyong does, in fact, get a message telling them all to go to the office and not their dorm but he pretends not to see it. He’ll deal with it on his own.

When they arrive, he lets everyone else get out while he stays in.

“What’s wrong?” Jaehyun asks.

Taeyong gives them a comforting smile.

“One of us has to go speak to them. Don’t worry about it though. I’ll be back before you know it and I’ll be fine,” he says.

Worry and panic clearly cross their faces. They know how Taeyong is willing to take punishments for them but he shouldn’t have to take one meant for the entire group, leader or not. Even he comes back from punishments broken.

He tries to pay it no mind though.

“I said don’t worry. Go on inside, I can’t keep them waiting,” Taeyong says, seeing Jaehyun about to protest.

He closes the car door and has the driver take him to the main building. He takes a deep breath, he’s going to be fine.

He tells himself that as he walks to management office. He’s going to be fine. They’re going to be fine. He’ll make sure of it.

He enters the office and is met with three representatives.

“I believe you were told to have your entire group here,” one rep says.

“With all due respect, I felt that my presence alone was enough,” Taeyong replies.

This catches their attention.

“You understand why you all were told to come, yes?” Another rep asks.

He knows the tone that they’re using; it means he’s on thin ice.

“I do but I disagree with it,” he responds.

“Do you? Explain.”

Well, he made it this far in the conversation, he might as well continue. If they are determined to give a punishment then no matter what he says they won’t change their mind so he might as well say what he wants to say.

“The outcome of today’s show was not in our control. The host was purposely antagonistic no matter what we did. We did what we could to diffuse the situation as respectfully as we could but he was determined to insult us. Even the audience knew that he was out of line. We were on our best behavior and it was he who ruined the show,” Taeyong says.

They’ve literally done nothing wrong today. There’s no place to put the fault on them. His members had to suffer through being verbally attacked and insulted on camera and still be polite. They did all they could to make SM look good.

“While he was inimical, you could have done more to make him like you better. You all should have done better,” the third rep says.

Maybe it’s because he’s been around so many negative thoughts today or because he had to quietly take insults directed at his group or maybe even because he already was close to losing his temper but Taeyong does not take this response kindly.

He straightens up considerably, something he rarely does in the face of management, and makes direct eye contact with the third representative. He’s taller than the man which is now very clearly seen as he stands with a straight posture. He tries to keep his face blank but he knows his eyes are holding some emotions.

“Pardon my repetition but maybe I didn’t elaborate clearly enough. My group does not deserve to have any correction because they did not do anything that needs correcting. My members had to sit there as that man verbally assaulted them and do nothing about it. Only until we were sure no one would be alarmed by the sudden change in attitude did Johnny use his ability on the host. We did everything to make him like us from the beginning; the crowd loved us. The director apologized for the host's behavior because he knew we did not deserve it. I am here to explain and assure you that we gave SM the best name we could today given the circumstances,” he says.

His words are succinct, not leaving much room for opposition. His phrasing is polite but his meaning is firm. He’s telling them that they will not be punished, not for today.

For the second time today, he watches as someone falters under his gaze. Maybe the host was right in saying that he was intimidating. He’s never seen a rep falter before, especially not to a group member. But he can’t find it in himself to care. If they want to punish him for his attitude, he’ll take it. But they will not be punishing anyone for what happened on the show.

After a silent conversation between the representatives with their eyes, the first rep clears his throat to address Taeyong.

“We see. We guess you make a valid point and we will let this occasion go this time. This will not be the case for the next show however so make sure the host likes you there. We will also be addressing your attitude and your group’s confidence in their abilities tomorrow. It seems Jungwoo and Johnny were hesitant to use their gifts until the situation turned for the worse. We will be helping you all with that,” the rep says.

Taeyong prevents himself from rolling his eyes. He knows they’re just looking for an excuse to exert their power again because they know they can’t punish them for the show. He’ll take it though. It’s the small wins that matter.

He is dismissed from the room and when he is behind the closed door, he lets out a sigh in relief. He made it through without any issues.

He is taken back to the dorms and he’s happy to be able to return in good condition, just as he told them he would.

When he enters in, he’s almost tackled by his worried members. Yuta even pushes past them to be ready for any healing he may possibly need.

“Guys, I’m fine. Nothing happened,” he says.

This catches everyone’s attention.

“Really?” Haechan asks.

Taeyong shakes his head yes.

“I explained to them that it was out of our control and we did what we could. They did, however, find a way to exert their power after I ‘calmly’ explained to them that we do not need correction for today. They said they’ll be addressing my attitude and everyone’s lack of confidence in their abilities tomorrow. I guess that is my fault, I lost my cool a little. Sorry there guys,” he says.

He can only imagine what tomorrow is going to be like but he’ll deal with that tomorrow.

Surprisingly, Mark laughs at the comment.

“I guess the host was right, you are intimidating,” he laughs.

The laughter coming from him does something to the room. It’s been a while since they’ve heard him laugh, being too jumpy from his last punishment. It’s relieving to hear him laugh again and so cheerfully at that.

Taeyong joins in, also beginning to laugh. Soon, the others are laughing as well, what being funny is each other laughing.

Today may have not gone the way they were hoping for but they made it through anyway.

Not to mention, they got their member back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It hurt me writing those insults. I know I wrote him, and I had to for the sake of the story, but that host was so rude. 
> 
> Also, SM give my boys some more lines, they deserve it. And all of my boys are amazing visuals, I'll fight anyone who says otherwise. I love them all so much. 
> 
> Come talk to me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/EvXinav) please. I forgot to post the link for the last three chapters. I would like to get to know your thoughts on the story so far so please comment, kudo, or talk to me on Twitter.
> 
> I also have a [Curious Cat](https://curiouscat.me/EvXina) if you'd like to ask a question.


	5. Please

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please forgive any mistakes in this chapter.

The sun rose with a deceiving gentleness.

Surprisingly though, none of them were up to witness it. In a rare moment, they all slept in past sunrise. They’re often woken up with the sun, especially when their schedule has something important coming up as it does now. During the few occasions when they aren’t forced to get up at ungodly hours, at least one of them wakes up early for whatever reason. It’s very rare that they all slept in until 9 o’clock.

It was this rareness that gave them something to worry about.

When they all woke up, all at the same time thanks to Haechan’s alarmed shout, they realized that it was past nine and they’re all just waking up. No harsh alarms went off, no sudden door banging, no one naturally getting up early. They all were fast asleep and there were no interruptions. A bad sign indeed considering yesterday.

Not only did their television appearance go terribly yesterday, but Taeyong practically told three representatives that his group would not be punished for the show’s outcome, they were told it would be addressed today, and they have another television appearance coming right around the corner. Too much is being added but they don’t seem to be getting the right answer.

In simple words, they shouldn’t have been able to sleep this late and nothing happen.

It was plain and simple to them: something really bad is about to happen and the world wants them to know.

With that terrifying knowledge in mind, they tried to go about their day until the worse came. Their morning has been strangely clear, another frightening sign, so they’ve been left to their devices until whenever someone decides to come and tell them what they should be doing since no one told them yesterday.

It’s not until noon approaches does the devil come knocking on their door.

The knock startles them all, silence previously owning the dorm. It’s clear to them that this is what waiting for in dread these past few hours and unlike yesterday, they most likely can’t avoid it.

Taeyong is the one who goes to open the door, acknowledging that a good amount of the blame lies on him in this case, as the others stay in the background unmoving.

And they thought the silence before was thick.

“Lee Taeyong, it’s a pleasure to see you again so soon.”

The representative at the door is the same one Taeyong stared down yesterday and made falter. He is not surprised that this man is here, probably wanting to enforce his power plainly.

Taeyong bows respectfully. He knows not to push his luck two days in a row now that he has calmed down significantly from yesterday’s events.

“The pleasure is mine sir,” he responds.

The rep enters in and everyone bows as they are supposed to. The light smile on the rep’s face makes them feel even more uneasy. This isn’t going to be good for them.

“As you all know, yesterday did not go well at all. You were all made to look like fools on a televised program, reflecting badly on this company. But out of the kindness of our hearts, we chose to let it pass after being informed that it was out of your control,” the rep starts, giving Taeyong a look as he mentions being informed.

Everyone looks at each other knowing that that “act of kindness” is about to have a clause.

“However, we have also noticed that you all seem to be lacking confidence and respect in the gifts you were so graciously given. From Mark so recklessly using his to Jungwoo and Johnny failing to use theirs yesterday, we found it worrisome with how you all use your abilities, or lack of use in some cases,” the man continues.

It always makes their blood jump a bit when they hear their abilities be referred to as gifts they were given. They were forced in a lab and experimented on against their will. The experiments were a living nightmare for them, something they have to live with for the rest of their lives. What they went through was far from a gift. These abilities are a burden they have to carry, forced upon them by this company. The only thing this company has graciously given them is each other.

But they are in no position to say that to this man or anyone involved in management. So instead they just silently listen as the rep continues to speak.

“So in light of this, it has been decided that you will be given some assistance in this matter. If you all would follow me,” he says.

He turns around and walks out the door, knowing that they all are going to follow him regardless of anything. And they do all follow him, no one daring to hesitate knowing it would make the matters worse.

They’re led outside and to a car with extremely tinted windows. They file in the car without having to be told to despite the fact that worry is beginning to become a bit more evident on their faces.

Tinted windows mean that the outside world is not allowed to even guess who’s in the car so as not to catch anyone’s attention. It also means that they’re going somewhere they’re not going to like.

The car ride is tensely quiet, the ten of them wondering what they are about to experience. It’s the normal length ride that is taken to go to the correction room. That fact makes them even more worried.

When they get out and head inside the building, they’re almost surprisingly not taken to the regular correction room, walking in a different direction than it. They’ve never heard of anyone being taken somewhere other than the correction room before so they don’t know what to expect. It does make sense, though, that they aren’t going to the correction room. They aren’t being corrected, they’re being “helped”.

Finally, they come to a stop in front of a door they’ve never seen before.

“We’re here. Everyone leave any electronics you may have on you and leave your shoes out here as well,” the rep says.

The ten of them give each other looks at the strange direction but nevertheless follows it. They all take off their shoes and leave their phones near their shoes. They’re told to enter the room and after a simultaneous deep breath, they enter in.

The room looks much different than the cold correction room they are used to. This room is brightly lit with soft beige color walls. There’s a large mat in the middle of the floor reminding them of a dojo of some sorts like the ones seen in shows. Instead of a heavy door that closes with a threateningly loud sound, the door here looks regular though no doubt is still soundproof. In all, this room looks far less terrifying than the correction room.

This is about to be really bad.

“Everyone line up except for Doyoung and Jaehyun. You two stand separately from the others,” the rep says.

They do as they’re told, Doyoung and Jaehyun standing separately as the others line up.

“Alright, for this activity, we’ll be building more faith and appreciation for your gifts. Jaehyun, you will be slowing down the outside world’s time for us so we don’t lose too much precious time in the day and as practice for your ability. Doyoung, you will be taking detailed notes in your head and I expect a handwritten report on this from you by tomorrow evening,” the rep says.

The two nod in response. Jaehyun immediately does what he is supposed to do and slows down time. Though it feels completely the same in here for everyone, they know he’s done it because his eyes seem so far away and his breath is slower than medically safe, sure-fire signs that he’s using his ability.

“As for the rest of you, you’ll be going against each other. You must bring your opponent to the ground, keeping them there for ten seconds. You are only allowed to bring the other person down using your gift. Your pairs have already been predetermined.”

The air stops moving in this exact moment.

They’re being put against each other. They have to go against each other and bring each other down. In other words, they have to fight each other. Forget the physical aspect of this “activity”, this is going to wreck them emotionally. They have to use their abilities on one another.

“Sir, you must be joking. What about someone like Haechan? His ability technically cannot be used on a person. Or Yuta whose ability is to heal people. You must see that there would be some complications with this,” Taeyong speaks up as politely as he can.

He won’t even mention that Winwin’s ability can seriously harm someone if he’s not extremely careful or how his own ability would literally be screwing with someone’s mind. It just isn’t safe.

“Your concern is appreciated but unneeded. We both know that Yuta has other abilities that he can use. As for the youngest, he was shown martial arts techniques that we are sure has mastered. He will be able to handle his own,” the rep responds with a smug smirk on his face.

No one misses the way Yuta practically freezes up at the mention of his other ability. He doesn’t like to be reminded that he has the ability to harm someone, that his fighting back caused him to be able to hurt a person greatly. Now he’s being expected to use that ability against someone.

“Now, if they aren’t any more concerns I’ll be glad to tell you of the pairings,” the rep says.

They want to go against this. This is almost, if not is, worse than any other individual punishment they can receive. They barely go against each other in arguments, let alone physical fights. They can’t be expected to willingly harm each other. This is just preposterous.

But no one responds. Any comment they could possibly say would get shut down immediately and all with a smirk on the man’s face. They’re stuck here.

“Good, no more concerns. The pairs go as following and in this order: Taeil and Taeyong, Mark and Jungwoo, Johnny and Haechan, and Yuta and Winwin. Doyoung, you will be announcing the winner of each round,” the rep says casually.

It’s small but the way he uses ‘and’ makes them feel sick. He says it as if they will be working with each other instead of against each other. It shouldn’t be ‘and’, it should be ‘versus’.

“And so you don’t try to cheat yourselves of valuable training and not do your best, if both do not participate during the round then there will be a consequence for the entire group. So everyone try your hardest for the sake of each other. The same goes for if no one wins.”

To protect one another they have to harm each other. The complete irony of this situation hurts too much to think about. They have to do this, no loopholes to use.

“Now, Taeil and Taeyong please step on the mat. Doyoung will tell you when to begin.”

Reluctantly, the two step on the mat and face each other. The eldest and the leader against each other. The pairs were chosen carefully clearly and that’s what makes it all the more worse.

The others stand off to the side, not knowing who to expect to win. Both will no doubt try to go easy on the other but someone has to win. Neither has ever used their ability to affect someone negatively, let alone on one of their own members negatively, so no one knows what to expect.

Taeyong makes eye contact with the rep and takes notice of the pure glee the man has. This round is nothing but payback for intimidating him yesterday. A cruel reminder of who holds the cards right now. It makes Taeyong sick.

Doyoung steps up hesitantly, looking to the two on the mat. Though he does not have to physically participate in these matches, it’s going to hurt just as much to have to watch them.

“Are you both ready?” Doyoung asks.

Everyone knows the answer is no. They’ll never be ready for this. But unfortunately, that’s not an option.

So instead they nod yes.

“Alright then. On my count. 3. 2. 1,” the next word hangs in the air along with his hand but there’s only so long he can prolong it.

“Go.”

Neither of the two moves. They just stare at each other not doing anything. They’re both uncomfortable with this and neither wants to make the first move. It’s almost as if they could stare at each other for the entire time.

Sadly, the rep will not let them.

“Remember, you must both participate,” he says as if he isn’t making them do something that’s tearing them up inside.

Surprisingly, Taeil acts first.

“You’re shaking Taeyong-ah. Are you afraid?” The elder says.

At those words, Taeyong feels unfounded fear suddenly creep up on him. It’s no secret that Taeil is causing this emotion in him.

“I’m not shaking,” he responds.

Being a telepath, his mental endurance is stronger than most and when boiled down to the science of it, emotions are caused in your brain. He should be able to withstand Taeil’s action without having to put any thoughts in the elder’s head. It’s not as if the rep will know or not if he used his ability.

“It appears that way to me. Maybe you should take deep breaths,” Taeil says.

The fear grabs Taeyong more and at this point, he actually feels his body begin to tremble. He figures that Taeil is just trying to get this over with for the both of them but if Taeyong goes down too easily then the rep will know he wasn’t doing anything. 

“I said I’m fine,” Taeyong replies.

But he’s starting to feel anything but fine. It’s as if the fear has a mind of its own, and in a way it does. His own actual fear—fear that this is all his fault, fear that someone will be hurt, fear that this will end up worse than they expect—unexpectedly mixes with the fear that Taeil is placing inside of him. The two marry and run away together, making Taeyong acknowledge a feeling he rarely accepts. He doesn’t like being afraid, he can’t be afraid, he has to be strong for his group. He doesn’t want to be fearful.

The fear begins to wrap around his throat as he thinks more about how he doesn’t like the emotion of fear, making it hard for him to breathe. At this moment, he’s clearly trembling.

“Stop it,” he whispers.

“Just sit down Taeyong and you’ll feel better, I promise,” Taeil says.

The way his voice wavers as he speaks is a clear indication that this is not entirely his doing but he knows what is happening. He is an empath, he knows what the younger is feeling.

But to Taeyong, he no longer notices the indication as the fear fully grabs a hold of him. It all mixes and he doesn’t know anymore if it’s Taeil’s doing or if his own fear is becoming too much for him to handle after ignoring it for so long.

“Stop it. Stop making me feel this way,” he says, words coming out in shallow breaths.

“You won’t feel this way if you sit down. I can make you feel better but you just have to trust me. Please, Taeyong,” Taeil replies.

The words don’t reach the younger like they should though. All he can feel is nothing but fear. Irrational fear that runs wild in his head. Irrational fear that just won’t go away.

“Go away. Go away. Go away. Go away,” Taeyong mutters under his breath, clutching on to his shaking arms.

Taeyong tries to get a grip on himself and rein back in the unwanted emotion. He tries to stay calm and collected. He doesn’t let himself fall prey to fear. He can’t.

But this time he does.

“Taeyong? Taeyong, can you hear me?” Taeil says, stepping closer to the harshly trembling leader.

_ ‘Stay away from me. Get away from me. Leave me alone,’   _ Taeyong thinks.

He doesn’t register the sight of Taeil slightly wincing, much too focused on his own fear that’s swallowing him whole.

“Taeyong, you have to listen to me. I understand that you’re afraid but I can’t help you if you don’t listen,” Taeil says, still approaching closer.

In the moment where Taeyong can no longer breathe does he snap.

_ ‘LEAVE ME ALONE!’ _ Taeyong silently shouts.

Taeil falls to his knees with a sharp yelp of pain. He holds his head as the younger’s words painfully ring in his mind over and over.

From the outside perspective, the others watch as their leader trembles and their eldest clutches his head in pain on the floor. Doyoung counts to ten, ten seconds never feeling so long in their lives before.

Finally, the seconds are up.

“Taeyong...wins,” Doyoung says, pushing past the lump in his throat.

The seriousness of this activity truly sets in at this moment as the others take in the sight of their two members. No matter how easy they may try to go on one another, someone will lose and they’ll both be affected.

Doyoung helps Taeil up off the ground and over to the others, bringing him to Yuta to help with Taeil’s headache. Taeyong manages to get himself over to a corner and curls into himself as he tries to calm down. No one but Jaehyun goes over to him, and even then he stands a bit away knowing Taeyong would prefer to handle it alone before dealing with anyone.

“I didn’t mean to make him so afraid. I forgot how much he ignores his fear, he’s not used to being forced to acknowledge it. It took control of him. It was such a risky emotion to make him feel, I should have chosen something else,” Taeil says softly in pained shock.

Taeil is the one that lost but yet he feels guilty for causing it. They can only imagine how Taeyong is going to feel when the fear leaves his system and he realizes that he hurt the elder unintentionally.

How are they going to feel when it’s their turn?

“An excellent first round. What a wonderful display of ability. Good work Taeil for making him feel such a clear emotion so strongly. And Taeyong, good job reaching his mind and convincing him to stop. Excellent work both of you,” the rep says with a happy clap of his hands.

Neither of them responds to his sadistic praises. This may be a game to him but it is far from that for them.

That doesn’t bother the rep though.

“Next we have Mark and Jungwoo,” he says.

The two step on the mat, giving one last glance to the previous pair. Jaehyun is now directly near Taeyong, not touching him but working his way towards comforting him. Taeil is sitting on the floor, staring at the mat in front of him dully. They were the first to go through this “activity” and hopefully they’re as bad as it will get.

Doyoung once again steps forward, giving worried glances to Mark and Jungwoo.

“Are you both ready?” He asks.

They nod yes, knowing hesitating will make this worse. It’s better to get it over with and please this twisted rep so they can just move on with their day.

“On my count then. 3. 2. 1. Begin.”

This pair is tense, a nervous tension. Jungwoo’s characteristic nervous is showing through his posture, shoulders slightly slumped as he looks at Mark. Mark stands more jittery than usual, a sign that he is nervous as well. Neither knows what to do.

But they aren’t going to let the rep give them any “ideas”.

“Mark, come and let me give you a hug,” Jungwoo says with open arms and a forced smile.

He makes direct eye contact with the younger and Mark feels this warm feeling inside him. All he wants to do is coo and let Jungwoo embrace him in a hug.

Jungwoo’s charm always works quickly.

Mark shakes his head clear though. He can’t fall that easily or they’ll all be in trouble. He has to resist.

“Gotta catch me first if you want a hug,” Mark replies.

Mark begins to run around Jungwoo, the latter trying to spot the former through the blur. If Jungwoo doesn’t have a stable, clear center focus point then his charm won’t work. No eye contact, no charm.

“Stay still, please. You’re making me sad by avoiding me,” Jungwoo says, still trying to land clear sight of the younger.

Due to already being exposed to Jungwoo’s charm directly when they first started, the pout that could practically be heard in his voice makes Mark want to give him all of his attention. He even slows down a fraction due to the pull of Jungwoo’s voice.

But when he realizes what’s happening, he speeds up again, continuing to run circles around the elder.

“Maybe you should stop trying to follow me, you’re going to get dizzy,” Mark says in reply.

On the surface, it sounds as if they are both taunting each other. But if you know them well you’d know that each statement is just an act to cover up their concern. They both want this to end quickly but neither are allowed to just give up. If Jungwoo keeps trying to follow Mark with his eyes, he will get motion sickness from the speed of it all. If Mark keeps running around then this prolongs more than they would like. But what can they do except for what they were told to do?

“May I remind you that one of you must win. Try not to drag this out unnecessarily,” the rep intervenes.

Someone has to win but who’s it going to be? Jungwoo knows that if he puts more pull into his power, Mark won’t be able to resist at all. But to take away his free will like that makes him feel terrible. The same goes for Mark. He knows that if he runs fast enough, he could take away enough air to make Jungwoo dizzy enough to go down but he doesn’t want to do that to him. So how are they going to end this?

“Mark, please,” Jungwoo says.

‘Please don’t make me do this’ being the words that come across.

Mark would love to stop running, to just give in to the soft voice and sit down. But he can’t. These reps have been trained to notice when Jungwoo, Johnny, and Taeil’s power takes hold of someone. That man would know the difference between him willingly giving up and him succumbing to Jungwoo’s power. If he gives up then the rep would not be happy.

“Mark.”

His name comes out of Jungwoo’s mouth sounding sweeter than ever. Though not at its full potential, it does have a significant amount of influence on him. It’s almost as if the world suddenly became rose colored and the sound with it is unexplainably harmonic.

In the split second the world changed colors, Mark made up his mind.

He stops short behind Jungwoo, sending two fingers into the back of the elder’s neck abruptly. Like being thrown in freezing water, the shock runs down Jungwoo’s spine and he falls to his knees, suddenly out of breath.

Doyoung starts counting the second Jungwoo’s knees hit the mat, not wasting a single moment. Even if this was a real fight, Jungwoo couldn’t make his way back to his feet because he feels as if the wind was knocked out of him. 

“Mark wins,” Doyoung announces.

Mark breathes heavily as if he just ran across the country at top speed. That took more energy out of him than running normally would. The emotional aspect of this activity is more tiring than any other part.

Jungwoo is helped off the ground by Mark and they make their way over to the others on together. The two end up settling on the floor, Mark in Jungwoo’s embrace, both trying to catch their breaths.

“Another good round. Mark, your resistance to Jungwoo was exceptional along with your creative way of winning. Jungwoo, your words alone were strong enough to make him slow down at different points, excellent use of your charm. Good round to you both,” the rep says.

The only thing good about this round is that neither of them is in physical pain unlike how Taeyong and Taeil ended their round. In a few minutes, they’ll be okay physically. They can’t promise anything about emotionally and mentally though.

“Next is Johnny and Haechan.”

The two look at each other before making their way to the mat. They move at the same time, only falling out of sync when Haechan whispers under his breath.

“Please end this quickly for both of us.”

It’s a quiet plea, one only Johnny hears. It’s a plea that could have very well gotten them all in trouble if the rep would have heard it but he didn’t. It’s simple what Haechan wants; he doesn’t want to do the whole dancing around each other thing for this round. With his ability being strictly on what he was already taught, he can’t bear to actually use any fighting technique he was shown on a member. He rather lose quickly and deal with the rep when the time comes to it.

Johnny gives a discreet nod, understanding the younger’s motive in asking. For the sake of them both, he’ll end it before it can even begin.

They step on to the mat, facing each other with unreadable expressions. They’re the outwardly calmest pair to step on this mat today. That doesn’t mean their stomachs aren’t twisting up on the inside though.

“Are both of you ready?” Doyoung asks.

The give a nod in confirmation. For the sake of making this look convincing, Haechan stands in a formal martial arts position after taking a rough breath. It’s the only way to show him attempting to use his ability so they won’t be in any trouble after this.

“On my count. 3. 2. 1. Go.”

Immediately Johnny acts.

“Do not move.”

The words have strong emphasis on them, wasting no time in grabbing Haechan. The younger’s entire body stiffens, mind telling him the words as if they were his own. No one can deny that Johnny's words are powerful. Johnny isn’t being persuasive. He’s being commanding.

“I’m going to end this now. Sit down Haechan and do not move until Doyoung finishes counting,” Johnny says, authority in his voice.

Johnny stands unfazed, facial expression never changing. If one would look closer at him though, they would notice his clenched fist and his quivering eyes that are giving away how he truly feels.

He doesn’t like using his ability this strongly on anyone, especially not on a member. It’s no longer getting them to think what you want them to think; it’s taking away someone free will and making them do what you want. No chance to resist and no way to ignore it. It’s an invasion to them and he hates doing it.

But if it saves them from both having to do something they don’t want to then he’ll gladly do it to spare their youngest.

Haechan slowly gets down on the floor and sits. He slowly turns to Doyoung, watching the elder like a student waiting for the teacher to say they’re free from timeout.

The latter stares in surprise before snapping back into reality. He begins to count to ten, though the shock is still clearly in his system. He hasn’t seen anyone submit to Johnny so easily before. The words weren’t even directed at him but he felt like sitting down as well.

“Johnny wins,” Doyoung says, looking to the rep as if he expects an objection.

Johnny goes over and helps Haechan up, giving the younger a pat on the back as a silent way of apologizing for now. Haechan gives a small smile in response to show it’s okay. The two step off the mat, Haechan’s body admittedly feeling a bit heavy from the effects of Johnny’s power.

“Is that the display of power you wanted to see?”

The question comes from Taeyong who’s still in the corner with Jaehyun but certainly is much calmer. His arms are propped up on his knees and his eyes are a bit distant. He’s drained clearly.

The rep turns to Taeyong, giving the leader a slightly unprofessional look of shock before regaining his composure. He obviously doesn’t like Taeyong’s calmness nor ability to speak his mind and still come across respectful.

“Yes, it was. This was an outstanding round. Johnny wasted no time in using his ability, something he should have done yesterday. This truly helped him regain his confidence in his gift,” the rep responds.

No one responds to the false comment. He’s always had confidence in his ability, he just knew when was the right time to use it. This activity has done nothing but make them hate their powers even more.

“Now, moving on, we finally have Winwin and Yuta, our  _ unique _ cases,” The rep says.

Unique he says. They always find a different word to describe them. But none of them outweigh the first word they ever used in reference to them.

Flaws.

Their cases were flaws, mistakes that made them a step away from perfection. They weren't failed experiments, thank god for that or they would have been “discarded”, but they weren’t completely perfect either. They were good enough for NCT which is a good thing but to the doctors and management, they’re seen as flaws. Unique, special, different flaws.

The air in the room goes stale, if it wasn’t already, as all eyes turn to the two. If the other rounds were unpredictable then there is no word to describe this round. Winwin’s super strength versus Yuta’s damaging ability. No matter what they do, someone will be leaving this round hurt and there is no sure guess on who.

“Go on you two, do not keep us waiting,” the rep says, motioning them to step on the mat.

Hesitantly, they walk to the mat. Yuta looks sick to his stomach and Winwin looks as if he’s trying his hardest to keep his facial expression in check. Neither of them likes to think about their flaw but it seems that they won't be getting away from it for this moment.

As if it was the first round all over again, Doyoung slowly approaches them.

“Are you two ready?” He asks slowly.

No, they’re not. Far from ready and never will be ready. If they could, they’d run away from this and deal with the consequences later. But they can’t and they’re the last round before everyone can go back. They have to complete this for everyone’s sake.

Neither of them nods yes but they also do not say no so Doyoung takes it as the answer to his question.

“On my count. 3. 2. 1.”

Everyone in their group tenses up with each number, waiting for the dreaded word coming next.

“Begin.”

Yuta nor Winwin moves at the word. How could they when the slightest ounce of recklessness could seriously damage the other person?

Yuta has only used his other ability on a person and that was first after his experiment. To test to see what was the anomaly his test results were showing, they brought in a failed test subject. After poking and prodding from the doctors, Yuta ended up deteriorating the unresponsive subject’s calf muscles. He healed it immediately after but the doctors didn’t let him go until they knew the extent of this oddity in his abilities. Since then, he hasn’t used that damaging power.

Winwin hasn’t used his ability to harm a person ever. He has used it to carry loads of boxes, injured people, equipment, furniture, and a few other things but never thought of using it against a person. He doesn’t even use his full strength majority of the time. The only times his full strength is ever used is when he is being tested to make sure he’s in tiptop shape. But he knows even a fraction of his strength can cause severe injury to a person and tries to be extra careful when using it involving people.

“Let’s go you two, end it out nicely for us all,” the rep says.

That’s probably going to be their only warning before they rep begins to threaten things if one of them don’t move soon.

So it becomes a game of speed.

They both run at each other, reaching out for the other. They miss each other by the width of their hair, silently thankful for it.

This game is simple: avoid the other’s grasp. Whoever makes contact first will be the winner no matter what happens. That’s just how their powers play out.

They keep going at each other, dodging and reaching. If this was a real match, this would be very entertaining and everyone would be on the edge of their seat. But it’s not and the others are only on the edge because they’re worried. Back and forth one of them gets too close to the other, causing everyone to hold their breaths. While they want this to end, they don’t want to see anyone hurt.

This round undoubtedly continues on longer than any of the others with the two of them dodging each others’ advances. And it seems the only one who doesn’t like how this round is progressing is the rep himself.

At the moment just as Yuta is once again reaching out to grab Winwin, the rep unexpectedly claps loudly.

In a reaction, Winwin briefly turns his attention away from Yuta and to the rep, immediate thought being one of them did something wrong to displease him. It’s in that second he loses focus does he lose the match.

Yuta’s hand wraps around Winwin’s wrist with a small grimace on his face. Winwin looks back to see the hand and knows he should try to pull away before anything happens. But it was too late.

“Do it, Yuta. I’m getting bored,” the rep says.

An order. God, how he hates receiving orders. He hates not being able to go against it without paying for it later on. He wishes he was stronger to go against an order.

Yuta’s face scrunches up as he turns on the pain receptors in Winwin’s body. It’s the only thing he can do that will give the least amount of harm to the younger.

Instantly, Winwin feels it.

Pain shoots through his nerves, although dull, making him wince. His wrists, in particular, feel it the worse, making it hard for him to try and pull Yuta’s hand off of him. His bones feel like they’re aching.

“More. Bring him to the ground and end this match,” the rep says plainly.

Yuta turns to look at the rep, not letting go if Winwin but also not following the order immediately.

“But sir, I’ll hurt him if I-”

“Are you questioning an order? Do as I say or else he’ll be receiving a punishment for being so careless and losing focus,” the rep says, cutting Yuta off.

This gets Taeyong to stand up from his spot in the corner, coming closer to the rep.

“Why are you doing this? Yuta is going to win either way, isn’t that what you want?” He says.

The rep turns to Taeyong with a blank look.

“You have a habit of questioning directions. I suggest you stay quiet and watch or else you’ll end up getting your group in another training day,” he replies.

Taeyong bows his head to hide his clenching jaw, knowing he’s defeated there. So he was right, this is just payback for making the man falter yesterday. Stupid representatives and their fragile pride.

The rep turns back to Yuta and Winwin.

“Continue on.”

Yuta looks back to Winwin with a remorseful look on his face. The younger is already extremely sensitive to touch, this dulling ache now most likely feeling worse to him than it would anyone else thanks to that flaw. Now he’s expected to cause more for the other.

He closes his eyes tightly as he unwillingly ups the pain. He knows it’s worse because he hears Winwin’s gasp of pain. Without fail, Winwin falls to his knees, squirming as if it would get him away from the pain.

Doyoung starts to count, a bit faster than the other times, wanting to help both of them get out of this sooner.

“Stop Doyoung. Yuta, don’t let go of him until I say so. If he’s unwilling to use his ability then it should be no problem for him to endure a bit longer,” the rep says.

That’s right, Winwin hasn’t done anything to show his power. He could have easily gotten out of Yuta’s grip before the pain was increased and even now he could free himself. But Winwin knows how he is when he is in pain. He’s less careful about how much strength he uses, and at a time like this, he could hurt Yuta badly if he broke free from the elder’s grasp.

“But sir-”

“I told you there would be a consequence if someone doesn’t do their best. Now, everyone watch as this weak excuse of a round comes to an end.”

They want to protest, explain to the man that Winwin did try his best and that the caution both him and Yuta showed was only normal. They want to go against this. Yuta and Winwin don’t deserve this; the two are always being treated differently because of what happened during their experiments. They did nothing wrong, they did their match and Yuta won. Why can’t it end there?

“Stop, please,” Winwin begs.

His skin feels like there’s a bunch of fire ants walking all over him. It’s nothing but pricks, tingles, burns, and shivers. It feels absolutely terrible. To the regular person, this pain would probably be just mildly uncomfortable but manageable. To him though, it feels as if his skin is trying to come off of his bones. His sensitivity to touch makes contact feel uncomfortable and pain feel unbearable. To have both in one moment makes it almost intolerable.

“Please. Please,” Winwin says again.

Yuta looks to the rep, hoping the man will give them some kindness. They did all that he wanted, isn’t it enough now?

Sadly, the man isn’t feeling kind today. He shakes his head no, a signal that Yuta must continue holding on to Winwin.

Suddenly, Taeyong gets to his knees in a low formal bow facing the rep.

“I ask of you sir to please let them stop. They’ve completed the match, please let them go now,” he says as respectfully as he can.

If this man wants to see him in his place then Taeyong has no problems stooping so low if it’s for his members.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be over soon; though it is nice to see you finally remembering your place,” the rep says.

No one responds after that. It’s clear that begging this man will get them nowhere. They just have to watch this until he says it’s over.

Winwin lets out a whimper of pain, his skin feeling as if it’s going to run away from him any minute now.

“お願いします _ (please) _ ,” he begs one last time, this time looking at Yuta.

It’s one of the few words Yuta taught Winwin each time they would watch an animation together. The older always found it absolutely adorable when Winwin would say anything in Japanese to him, making him extremely happy to hear. If Winwin ever wanted something from Yuta, he would just ask in broken Japanese or say at least one word in the language and Yuta couldn’t help but give in. Hearing Winwin speak his language always pulled at his heart.

But for once, it tears at him hearing it.

Yuta immediately drops the younger’s wrist at the short plea. He knows he disobeyed an order but he doesn’t care. He falls to his knees and scrambles over to Winwin. He pulls the younger into his arms, instantly starting to soothe him from his pain.

“ごめんなさい, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” he whispers as he cradles Winwin in his arms.

He continues to hold and rock Winwin, feeling extremely guilty for hurting him. Winwin still moves a little at the contact but Yuta’s soothing ability outweighs the crawling in his skin.

“How sweet, no wonder the fans love you. You disobeyed my order though Yuta,” the rep says with false sweetness.

“I’ll take the correction, I promise. Please, just let us go back now,” Yuta responds, pulling Winwin closer to him as if to keep him away from the man.

In connection with Yuta’s plea, the others get down on their knees and bow to the rep as a gesture of their petition.

The rep stares at the scene in front of him, looking at them with an unreadable expression. The room is silent for what feels like hours but is actually only a minute.

Finally, the rep speaks.

“Alright then, because I’m feeling generous and overall you all did well today, I’ll let this go. You may all go back to your dorm and no correction will be given to any one of you. Go ahead, thank me,” he says.

Sighs of relief are let out from the others in the room. They concurrently say their thanks to the man, glad that they’re going to be let out of this mess.

The rep turns away from them and begins to head out of the room.

“If you don’t hurry up though, the car will leave without you,” he says to them over his shoulder, continuing to leave the room.

This gets them to scramble to their feet, Yuta helping Winwin up and moving, and move to grab their shoes and phones outside the room. Jaehyun sets the time back to normal, quietly relieved to release his power after so long. It really was a training session for him and it tested his endurance. Thankfully, it’s over now.

They follow after the rep, some still putting on their shoes as they walk, not wanting to be left behind. While they could walk back to their dorm, they want what’s going to take the least out of them.

No one utters a word throughout the entire time of walking to the car, riding in the car, and entering their dorm. They will eventually talk about what happened, but not at this moment.

Once they’re back to the safety of their own space, they’re like puppets whose strings were just released; the tension holding them up releases all at once and their bodies practically go limp. They trudge their ways to different rooms, going with the partner they went against earlier, everyone silently agreeing that they need some rest and time to discuss things privately.

For the rest of the day, which seemed to drag on forever since very little time moved earlier thanks to Jaehyun’s power, no one came out of their room unless they needed something that was elsewhere. Just like today’s morning, the dorm was uncharacteristically quiet throughout the time.

The sun set with a revealing starkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, my boys. They don't seem to get a break, do they? 
> 
> Come tell me what you think of the story so far on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/EVXinav)
> 
> Or come tell me something on [Curious Cat](https://curiouscat.me/EvXina/)
> 
> I also have a [Ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/G2G2K29H)
> 
> Also, pray for me guys, I'm trying to buy NCT tickets. I hope I can make the money in time and get seats.
> 
> Until next time.


	6. Peace is relative

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a pretty low going chapter; the boys needed a break. Though for them, the word 'break' is relative.

The familiar sound of a blaring alarm wakes them all up at 5:30 sharp.

They all drag themselves out of whichever room they were sleeping in, the sleeping arrangements being mixed from last night, and to the living room where the alarm casually screeches.

It was management’s idea to have the alarm in the living room so no one can even think about pressing snooze on it. One thing no one realized when the idea was first told to them was that the alarm would have to be loud enough for all of them to hear from the rooms. The first day that alarm ever went off, they were only a few seconds away from having a heart attack. They can unfortunately-fortunately say they are now used to the ear-splitting alarm.

It’s Jaehyun who turns off the infernal alarm while the others get moving with their routines. Taeyong heads over to the kitchen to begin breakfast so it can be ready by the time all of them are ready, Jaehyun being the one to continue for him when it’s his turn to shower.

They all go through their morning routines and get ready in a reasonable time with enough time to sit and eat breakfast before their 7:00 dressing appointment for the upcoming show—a blessing considering they’re constantly eating their breakfast on the go.

“Okay guys, I know yesterday was terrible but last night was all of the time they’re going to give us to deal with it. We go on that variety show in five days they’re going to work us into the ground until then. Let’s try to do our best until we get past this event. If you feel like you need a break though, let me know okay,” Taeyong says to them all.

Everyone gives a half-hearted sound of agreement, knowing their leader’s words are true but still are dreading the coming days. After yesterday, all they want to do is stay in their dorm until it’s time to go on that show.

Last night, they all took the time to talk to whoever they were rooming with for the night about what happened earlier on. Some conversations were shorter than others, having less to talk about and more so just apologizing and making sure they didn’t hurt the other. Other conversations though took a bit longer, in particular, Taeil’s and Taeyong’s and Winwin’s and Yuta’s conversations.

Taeyong and Taeil spent a good part of the night apologizing over and over for hurting the other. Once they got all of their apologies out of the way, Taeil made it his mission to get the younger to talk about his tendency to ignore his fear. He was worried that another day Taeyong may be swallowed by his fear once again, without his influence playing a part in it, and neither of them wants that to happen. They talked about what each of them they can do the next time Taeyong is met by the unwanted emotion. While it is definitely going to take more than one night for it to stick in his head, Taeyong was told that it’s okay to be afraid at times. Being afraid doesn’t make him a bad leader, it makes him a more realistic and understanding leader. It’ll take some time for that idea to stay with him but they at least talked about it.

Yuta's and Winwin’s night went a bit different than Taeil’s and Taeyong’s. Their night was spent with Yuta holding the younger in his arms, Winwin only pulling away at certain times when the contact became a bit too uncomfortable. Some hours Yuta would spill his apologies nonstop for hurting Winwin and other hours they both would just sit in silence. While they both felt guilty for what happened, it’s safe to say that Yuta’s guilt was threatening to swallow him whole. He hates the idea of his other ability and hates even more that it was used on Winwin. Even though that was the least he could do, it was still really painful thanks to that flaw in the younger’s skin. It hurt enough for Winwin to beg for him to stop. How could he not feel terrible about what he’s done even if it was an order? He couldn’t let Winwin go until he felt certain that the younger understood at least a fraction of how much he is sorry. Needless to say, the two slept in each other’s arms last night.

On a related note, Winwin is sure he’s had enough contact for the next month after last night. Maybe more.

“Let’s hope the host likes us this time,” Mark says.

“It’ll definitely save us a lot of trouble if he does,” Johnny agrees.

If this show can go really well then that will take some of the heat off of them. Being SM’s special little group, they’re watched very closely and if anything isn’t up to perfection then they’re at high risk. When they do well, however, it gets management not to watch them as hard. It gives them a bit more breathing room to work with until the next time they have to do something like this. Hopefully the next time they won’t be so closely booked together. Two shows back to back is painfully stressful.

“Let’s have a plan just in case it decides to take a turn for the worst again. I’m sure that if I ever get caught giving a glare as hateful as the one I gave the last host management will have a fit,” Taeyong says, causing the others to laugh a bit.

“That was a pretty strong glare you gave him. It’s a good thing the cameras didn’t catch that. I think he pissed himself a bit at that glare,” Jaehyun responds with a small smile.

It’s really a miracle that no one in the audience caught it and if they did, no one recorded it. SM would have had his head if they found a video of that. And believe him when he says they go searching for those types of fan videos online.

“I can’t believe I missed it. I wanted to see him scared,” Haechan whines.

“You’re too young to see one of Taeyong’s glares. Be glad that you didn’t.” Taeil responds jokingly.

“One of his glares puts Yuta’s to shame,” Johnny adds, causing Yuta to give a false look of hurt at the comment.

The others laugh at Yuta’s offended look. It’s a pleasant feeling for them to laugh with each other so early in the morning after everything that happened.

They finish their breakfast, all in a better mood and slightly more ready to deal with the day ahead of them.

After that the rest of their day goes in a blur—a blessing really since a long day that drags is the worst type of day to have for them.

They’re put in and out of clothes, multiple directions thrown at them throughout it. After the fitting, they’re sent to practice. There’s no doubt in their minds that they’ll be doing a lot more on this show. Variety shows always require more so they have to prep more. At least these type of shows are usually friendlier, something they’ll need after the last show.

They spend hours in the practice room, avoiding taking too many breaks so as not to aggravate those watching them. Their lungs are burning, their muscles are sore, and their feet feel dead but they survived. Seeing their manager's satisfied look when he came to “check” on them made it worth it if only to avoid any more trouble.

By the time they get back to their dorm, Doyoung excluded since he has to go give that report from yesterday, they’re ready to call it a day and prepare for tomorrow which will no doubt be as busy as today if not more. They can't complain too much though, nothing bad happened and that's what matters most.

But their day isn’t over yet.

Doyoung walks in the dorm, a half an hour later after they’ve arrived, and the frown on his face tells them that the reporting must have had a bad moment.

“Well, you don’t look very happy. What happened?” Yuta says to him.

Currently, the others are all in the living room doing their own things but all stopped so as to find out what happened.

“Nothing really bad, just upsetting if I should put it lightly,” Doyoung responds, pushing his hair out of his face.

And he means he is putting it very lightly.

“What happened?” Jaehyun asks.

Doyoung takes a seat, clearly looking more drained after the interaction he just had.

“After I gave my report of yesterday, which made me absolutely want to leave the room as the twisted man smiled at it to his colleagues, they began to discuss it amongst themselves in front of me. It was asked what was the reason and benefit to yesterday’s activity—I’m taking it as the other reps in the room were not the ones that Taeyong hyung met with. And after what that rep said I can understand why there were different people there,” he says.

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Jungwoo peeps up from his seat, frown on his face now.

Doyoung gives a slight grimace in return.

“You shouldn’t. It turns out the original two reps that were in the room with hyung were just planning on talking to us yesterday and leaving it at like that. You know, just scare us so we’ll be on our best behavior. The rep from yesterday didn’t want that though. He wanted to put hyung in his place for being insubordinate, or in my words for scaring him, and he said the best way to do that was to target his group. Apparently, nothing puts him in his place quicker than punishing his members so that’s what he did. The report today was basically to brag about how well the idea went and to flaunt his status after looking weak two days before,” he explains.

A sick silence takes the room as all the others have mixed faces in reaction to the explanation. It can even be heard at one point Haechan whispering under his breath about it.

Taeyong is the one to really break the silence though.

“You mean to tell me that,” his voice tight and clearly coming through clenched teeth, “what that  _ bastard _ put us in yesterday we weren’t even supposed to go through?”

The question is rhetorical but Doyoung nods anyway, although a bit hesitantly. It’s not every day you hear this level of anger in Taeyong’s voice.

It makes everyone feel revolted that they had to go through what they did all so the rep could exert his power, but they already knew that much from yesterday. But to know now that the entire thing wasn’t even supposed to happen and that man just used their pain to get back at Taeyong makes them feel worse.

It makes Taeyong livid though.

It isn’t the wrong idea that the quickest and most effective way to get to him is through his members—it’s absolutely true—but none of them deserved the punishment this time. Even the other representatives knew that. They were just going to be talked to but then this man and his hurt pride decided to punish them all just because he felt weak in front of a group member, someone’s test experiment.

His members were harmed and put in a situation they didn’t want to be in because of this one man who wanted to have a power trip.

If it wouldn’t cause more trouble, Taeyong would show that man what real intimidation looks like, with or without permission.

A hand on his shoulder snaps him out of his thoughts and he turns to see Johnny next to him.

“You’re going to make Taeil hyung sick,” he says.

Taeyong takes the time to notice that Taeil, who was right next to him, has moved over to be near Mark and Haechan. It’s known that too strong of an emotion can affect their eldest and strong negative emotions can make him sick. Though it’s a hit and miss sort of situation, it’s still a risk. Taeyong’s anger must have gotten a bit stronger than he knew and Taeil could feel it beginning to make him sick

Taeyong takes a deep breath in order to reign in his anger. There’s no use in being mad at a person who can cause pain for you and the people you care about.

“Sorry about that,” he responds.

“It’s okay, it’s understandable,” Taeil says.

Even if it is understandable, they all have a job to reign in their emotions, especially since one of their members are constantly feeling their emotions as well.

“On a brighter note, continuing on with the report, I did inform the other two reps present about the man’s bias towards Taeyong hyung and it was agreed that he isn’t the best choice for future dealings involving us. Punishments would seem more like a revenge plan than a correction which would leave room for us to ‘continue on in our bad behavior’ and they do not want to take that chance,” Doyoung says.

“In other words, you convinced them to not let him deal with us anymore by using their own lines of reasoning,” Mark says with an amused lilt to his voice.

This causes Doyoung to smile slightly, a bit smug.

“Exactly. I’m sure he won’t be very happy when he finds out but that is his fault for passing boundaries unnecessarily. Even reps are being watched and criticized by each other. I’m sure he’ll be talked to about his behavior despite receiving ‘positive’ results,” he responds.

That makes them all smile a bit. That man may have had his twisted fun yesterday but that’s most likely going to be his last time dealing with them.

One thing about being SM’s special group, not just anyone can deal with them, especially when coming to matters of correction. The higher-ups make sure there’s a system in place to monitor those watching them. Not all reps know about the specialty of 127 and not all who do can give them a physical punishment. Relatively speaking, it’s a small amount who know and a smaller amount who are allowed to deal with them in the correction room. Everyone else is only allowed to send them to punishment or “talk” to them, intimidation and passing hits such as being slapped are always allowed. Those who are allowed to correct them, do not have the guarantee of always being allowed to do so. They too have to be on their best behavior if they want the “privilege” of handling the special group.

Even representatives have something to lose.

“That means we should be in the clear until the day of the show without some spiteful rep trying to make things harder for us. Good job, you really spared us, me especially, right there,” Taeyong says to Doyoung.

They’re going to be busy to the max for the next five days but at least they can do that without having to deal with a prideful rep unnecessarily.

They have five days of relative peace—peace being used very loosely and relative being a keyword—it’s best for them to use it wisely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come talk to me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/EVXinav)
> 
> Or say something to me on [Curious Cat](https://curiouscat.me/EvXina)
> 
> See you guys next chapter.
> 
> Also, I'm going to see these boys this month. I'm going to cry.


	7. Even the sun needs sleep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The term 'doctor(s)' is used in this chapter, and will be used throughout the story, so for clarification sakes, the doctor that is being talked about is not like an actual physician. They're scientist really but you know their title is Doctor and with the work they do on the boys, they do act as a physician of sorts.
> 
> Also on a completely unrelated note, I somehow forgot Donghyuck's stage name and had to sit there for a while trying to think of it because I refused to search it up. I feel like I should also tell you he's REALLY beautiful in person. I went to the fan meet in NYC and guys he's so gorgeous I almost cried. Cameras don't do him justice and he's not even my bias. Everyone needs to appreciate the sun that is Lee Donghyuck.
> 
> Okay, on to the story.

It’d be a lie if they said that they were ready for this show today.

Using the words “relative peace” was a lie and a mistake to use. Even without a spiteful rep to make them miserable, they were busier than they expected to be.

Management still somehow took the idea that what happened at the last show can have preventive measures for this one if they are better than their normal standard—which is already set above being perfect if anyone has forgotten. Due to this ingenious (read: highly idiotic) idea, they were worked harder than normal. They had been wakened up earlier than normal and let free for the night later than usual. Their schedule was packed and it was fast-paced.

To say they were tired would be an understatement. They’re absolutely exhausted; drained, dead.

But they have a show to do. Thank god for muscle memory or else they wouldn’t have a chance at getting through today.

“Everyone breathing?” Taeyong asks his half-dead members.

They’re once again waiting for their time to go out and pretend to be the best, lively group they’re known to be. It’ll be a challenge due to how worn they feel.

He gets mutters and groans in reply, good enough for this case. As long as no one is about to drop on him in the next few hours then everything is fine. 

“Barely but we’ll make it through,” Johnny says.

After this show, they aren’t scheduled for anything special so everything should go back to normal hopefully. They wouldn’t mind sleeping in past sunrise again after all of this though that's highly unlikely.

“NCT, you’re on in five,” a voice tells them from behind the door.

They all hold back a groan at the thought of having to move and start working again.

“Let’s get this done,” Jaehyun says. 

They all get up and shake their bodies, trying to get a bit of energy from the movement. Some jump on and down, some stretch, others twists, it’s just a blur of movements. It’s not like they can go look dead on a variety show so they better get their blood pumping now.

When they feel awake enough to put on their best smiles, they leave the room and head to where they’re supposed to stand before they are introduced. 

“You okay Hyuck? Never thought I’d see the legendary sun look so tired,” Mark says quietly, coming up behind Haechan and placing a hand on his shoulder.

Haechan gives him a small smile in return.

“I want to sleep so badly. I feel like taking a page out of Jaemin’s book and downing a bunch of coffee just to stay awake,” Haechan replies.

Mark chuckles softly and nods. 

“Me and you both. But I don’t think our bodies can handle it like his can,” Mark says back jokingly.

The two laugh quietly together about their member and his drinking habits, both recalling the time Jeno got rid of all the coffee in the dorm and Jaemin practically went through withdrawals. As much as they would like coffee right now, they’ll live and function without it which cannot be said for the younger Dream member—may god save Jaemin’s body and while he’s at it, save them as well.

If they ever get a chance to rest, afterward they need to go back and see how Dream is doing and spend a day with them. Don’t get them wrong, they love 127 and have a bond with them like nobody else does—quite literally too—but Dream is their age and there’s something great about being silly and playful with friends close in age to you.

“...NCT 127!”

The two youngest snap out of their conversation when they hear the group’s name be called and their members start to go out like the mess they are. They join in as quick as they can.

They all walk, if you can call what they’re doing as walking, to stand in front of the hosts and line up.

“Hana, dul, ses, To the world here is NCT! Hi, we are NCT 127,” they greet together.

They bow to the cameras and their hosts. 

“Welcome, we’re excited to have you here. We hear so much about you guys and now we get to see it all for ourselves,” one of their hosts says. 

“Thanks, we’re excited to be here. We hope we can live up to your excitement,” Johnny replies.

Muscle memory really is a beautiful thing. The second they stepped out it was as if their exhaustion faded away to the background, hiding in their bones, and their famous false energy took over. They still feel dead to a large degree but their bodies took over and they know that’s the way they’ll be getting through this show.

As always, they start off by introducing themselves in their own styles. It’s a good sign that the hosts are smiling as they do so. When they finish, the hosts move on.

Considering how many shows they’ve been on before, this time they’re spared the hassle of explaining once again all about NCT. It really gets repetitive after a while and there’s only so many ways they can explain their concept. It’s not like they can go out and say ‘oh and we have powers because SM experimented on us to make us perfect so people like you will love us and make our company look good’ just for some good ratings and interesting discussions you know.

Thankfully with variety shows, there is less talking and more playing games. You don’t need to work hard and charm someone if all you’re doing is playing games back to back.

To get the show going they, of course, start to talk about their latest albums and what they have been doing. And as expected, they are asked to perform the dance for the album’s title track.

Though they smiled and enthusiastically said yes to showing the choreography, they all internally groaned, whined, or cried at the idea of having to dance this song for another time after spending five days of it getting drilled into them relentlessly. They even saw the dance in their sleep, that’s how much they were worked. Their bones actually feel like lead right about now but they’ll think about that later. 

They get into formation and wait for the music to start.

Haechan, who is once again next to Mark, gives the older a look that conveys how badly he doesn’t feel like dancing at this moment through his eyes. Mark silently agrees but shrugs off his own exhaustion for sanity sake. Haechan follows suit and tries to ignore his need to just sit down. They have to do it either way so might as well fool themselves into believing they actually want to.

Once the music starts, they no longer have time to think.

They go through the song smoothly. Their bodies couldn’t possibly forget the moves that were drilled into their memories. Like every other choreography they have, they’ll never forget it just like SM wants and expects from their perfect group. Their machine-like precision that their choreography is always praised for is overflowing in their dance after so many hours of practice.

When they finish the dance, they once again thank whatever force keeping them going, something they’ve been doing after every time they have to dance lately. Thankfully, they get the chance to sit down after this time.

The show progresses on normally and without issue. No one sees Taeyong give an uneasy look and Taeil seems at ease so that must mean that everything is fine.

They do a few silly games together, the laughter being a good refreshment to them, and do a few funny segments too.

Finally, they come to the self-reports.

“Now you guys have done this before a few times so I’m sure you’re all experts on this now,” one of the hosts say.

They’re all actually really relieved to be at this part. Not only is it a comfortable segment for them, but it’s also one of the last ones if not the last one which means they get to go home soon. They’re almost free. 

Almost ironically, the two charmers of the group go first and second, Johnny being the first and Jungwoo second. Johnny reveals something about himself from when he was still in America, viewers always loving his stories and habits from when he was there. Unsurprisingly, Jungwoo was very honest with his report which the hosts find absolutely adorable.

Taeyong goes next, something weird but cute being revealed about their leader as usual. 

Jaehyun follows after, turning red as he is once again compared to a female idol and extensively called pretty.

Doyoung’s report is next and the intellectual mentions a few fun facts about why he covers certain American singers’ songs.

Throughout the first five reports, minute pokes and pinches were sent between members if someone didn’t seem lively enough. When one member hasn’t talked for some time, a small pinch to the thigh that would just look like they were playfully bothering each other would remind them to speak up.

Haechan is especially grateful for Yuta who can play off a pinch or a nudge as his normal constant affection and Mark who is quick enough to hit him without the cameras seeing. He’s not going to lie, if it wasn’t for them then he probably would have closed his eyes on live television. He’s never been this tired before and had to be in front of cameras, especially not after a string of bad punishments. 

Speaking of his saviors, both of them save him and alert him when his report shows up next. He perks up just a bit more to pay more attention to what is being said to him.

“Though this isn’t on your report surprisingly, word has it that you are the king of random dances for the group,” a host says.

Haechan smiles and nods but on the inside, he cries a bit. While he does take some form of pride in that—some because it’s really just his powers doing their job but he was a good enough dancer for SM to make that his power—he didn’t put that on his report he did not want to showcase that “talent” today. He can’t escape it though it seems.

“We’d like to test this for ourselves. After all, a king needs to prove his title every so often,” the other host says.

He highly doubts anyone could take that title from him from ANY group but he won’t say that.

So instead, he stands up and waits for the music.

Without surprise, the first song that plays is Move by Taemin.

With it being such a popular dance but one that requires a lot of control of your hips and having grace, it’s usually first since everyone loves to see someone else dance to it and also who dancing wants to suddenly switch into that song. He could do that though it wouldn’t seem very natural.

The song changes to Exo’s Love shot and he changes with it.

The way his powers work when it comes to dances is actually quite simple to explain, though it is more complex than he knows. When the music starts, his body reacts first. His mind sends the signals so quickly that he almost doesn’t register them. If the song switches suddenly, the signals change too and his body moves with it. Very little thinking involved.

Red Velvet’s Ice Cream Cake becomes the next song and he switches easily into it.

It only takes maybe twice of him seeing a choreography and twice of practicing it for him to master it. Sometimes it takes three times but for dances no more than that. Other things maybe but overall it doesn’t take him long to master something thanks to his powers. He could learn anything he wanted and master it—not the others’ powers though; he has tried and learned that he can master things normal people have a chance at mastering, not copy other powers—but he doesn’t find that very fun.

Besides, even his powers have a setback to them. Because he learns things quicker, it takes a lot more out of him than it would most people. He can sleep for a day if he learns something particularly hard in a short amount of time.

But no matter how much he learns, his powers always work and are always reliable.

So he wasn’t ready for them to not be all of a sudden.

The song switches and his mind stops working. The music sounds familiar, he knows he knows this dance but his body just isn’t moving. He can’t even identify the song in his head. He tries to think but all he can see is a fog in his mind. He just can’t think of anything related to this song. Not the group, not the song, and definitely not its choreography.

Without thinking, he turns quickly to his group with a startled look. He must have panic in his eyes because they seem to all slightly panic with him.

_‘The song is Girls Generation Mr.Mr. You know the dance for this song, what’s wrong?’_ Taeyong says to him in his mind, sounding worried.

Mr. Mr. , he does know that song. He knows this song.

The fog in his mind slowly clears and his body finally starts responding to the music. The steps finally come to his mind and he starts dancing.

When it takes the song a few more seconds to change that’s when he realizes that he wasn’t frozen for as long as it felt for him and his group. In reality, it probably only looked like he stopped to think about the song for two seconds before dancing. 

But for him it felt like forever.

“Whoa, he’s so good,” one host laughs happily.

“His title stays,” the other says.

Everyone claps, though Haechan knows his group’s claps are a mixture of being polite and trying to be encouraging. He takes his seat and immediately feels Mark put a soothing hand on his thigh with a reassuring squeeze.

The show moves on as normal but for Haechan it’s anything but.

That has never happened to him before. He has never not remembered a dance before. Everything about his power is subconscious. He just learns it and his body does the rest. It never happened before where his mind and body fail him and he was left lost and confused. He actually almost messed up in front of multiple cameras. 

This isn’t good. 

They get through all of the remaining profiles while trying to keep their lighthearted pretense. It’s hard for them though since none of them fail to notice the slight drop in Haechan’s shoulders and the nervous squeezes on his thigh from Mark. Their two youngest are nervous now and are no doubt going to come undone the second they’re far away enough from the cameras and people.

The show eventually comes to a close and they don’t know if that’s a good thing.

They get their answer the minute they enter their car.

Taeyong’s phone rings.

“Hello?” He answers.

He’s silent for a moment. It’s clear he’s trying to hold back a grimace on his face.

“Yes sir, I will. Yes. Yes. I understand, I won’t. Yes, I know. Thank you sir,” he says after a bit.

He hangs up the phone with a sigh. He looks over to the two youngest who are still attached to each other. Haechan really must be nervous if Mark is allowing and giving contact and affection for this long.

“Was it a representative?” Doyoung asks.

Taeyong shakes his head no.

“It was a doctor. They want to give Haechan a check-up,” he replies.

Haechan squeezes Mark’s hand tightly, hands trembling.

“A check-up? Why, do they think I’m failing?” Haechan asks, voice shaking.

They don’t go to see the doctors often since they are considered perfect experiments. Whenever they do have to go for a check-up, they’re told in advance and the reason why. The only people who get called suddenly and/or have frequent check-ups are Yuta and Winwin since they’re considered less than perfect.

To be suddenly told to go to the doctors is never a good sign. Especially since doctors do not have to go through reps and barely have to go through management. Doctors are their own power and their own nightmare to deal with.

“I don’t know. I guess it’s because of what happened today they want to make sure your powers aren’t failing you. I was told to make sure you and you alone go straight there. It was made clear that I shouldn’t stay with you but when you get out we can come to get you,” Taeyong replies.

“I’ll run to you. Just give me the call and I’ll be there by time you blink,” Mark says, giving Haechan another assuring squeeze.

The two always have each other’s backs, already having gone through so much together, so Haechan knows Mark means it very literally when he says he’ll be there by the time he blinks. Mark is always there to comfort him and vice versa.

But while it is comforting to know Mark will be there when he gets out, Haechan can’t help but feel terribly worried about this. His check-ups usually aren’t much but his power stopped today. He was left in confusion and he knows the doctors are dying to figure out what caused the abnormality. Being in that lab and being surrounded by impersonal doctors that see you as a test subject and not a person is so bone chilling it’s painful. He almost doesn’t know what’s worse, the poking and prodding or punishments. Being treated like a lab rat or being used as a slave. They’re both terrible and they’re both his unfortunate reality. 

The rest of the ride to their dorm is silent and filled with anxiety. When they finally get there, they’re all dropped except for Haechan. As they file out of the car, they all give reassuring looks or touches to him. Mark is the last to get out of the car, taking his time to move.

“I’ll stay in the area for you. I’ll be there the second they let you go free,” he whispers to Haechan.

Haechan nods and hopes that the next time he sees the speedster today won’t be with any bad news.

Mark finally gets out of the car and Haechan is driven away immediately.

The thing with the doctors is their lab is not in the same building as the correction room. It’s easier to cover up the use of the correction room, it’s not easy to explain why there is a full-blown laboratory at the bottom of an entertainment company property building. So the ride there is generally a bit longer than the ride to be corrected. Not only that but you don’t need an escort there. If you’re called to go then you could very well go by yourself and if you do, you never lollygag going. There’s this fear of the doctors that is much different than the fear of a rep. Reps use force and threats. Doctors, though, know everything about you. They literally know what makes you tick. Disobey a doctor and they know the cruelest ways to punish you for it because they know the very extent your body can go to. Doctors are terrifying. 

When he reaches the building, he gets out of the car with little hesitation. He knows better than to make them wait longer. 

The building is very unassuming. It looks just like a regular medical office building, making any discovery of a lab seem less suspicious. Normal clientele goes in and out of the building, though not just anyone can afford to go there. This is usually where any SM idol goes to have a normal physical check-up since it is owned by SM and not every worker in there is a part of the 127 project. In fact, those who are a part of the project are a special few and they don’t mix with the regular workers there.

Haechan enters the building and goes to the receptionist.

“Name and doctor?” She says, not even looking up from her computer.

“Lee Donghyuck, 127 doctors,” he replies.

Though they know nothing of the project, every receptionist is taught that there are ten members currently that have their own set of doctors, they are treated on a certain floor, and to never question or stop the members. Because it’s not easy to get a job here and rarely are they fired, there aren’t many receptionists to teach this to so there’s less of a risk of someone becoming overly curious and finding something out.

She briefly looks up to him and he doesn’t fail to notice the awestruck look that briefly passes through her eyes.

“Oh yes, go ahead,” she says.

He gives a polite nod in response and heads down to where he needs to go. He hopes this goes quickly.

He feels his heart in his throat as he gets closer and closer to the lab. When he comes in front of a pair of locked doors and an intercom, he tries to will his trembling away as he presses the button.

“Enter.”

The sound of buzzing alerts him to pull at the door. It opens without resistance and he walks through after taking a deep breath.

He’s met with the cold and the smell of antiseptics. He hates it.

He doesn’t have to walk far because a doctor is already waiting for him only a few steps away.

“Donghyuck, right this way.”

He’s led to a room, luckily not the room he was experimented on, and told to have a seat.

“I assume you will be cooperative and we won’t have to use other measures for this,” she says to him, hinting to the straps hanging.

He hates to be strapped down. It reminds him of how he was strapped down for his experiment and how all he wanted to do was grab his head as if it could do something about the pain. Whenever he comes to get a check-up, he makes it his goal to fight through the nerves and cooperate because he refuses to be strapped down again. 

As always, he nods obediently and stays silent.

“Good. Because this was so sudden, only three others will be joining us. You usually do not give issues so do not start today,” she says. 

Though four doctors in one room is still a lot in general, it’s nothing compared to having the entire team of twenty there. That’s how many people there were when they were experimented on. That’s the number of doctors there are whenever they have a full group examination. That’s near the number of people there are whenever Yuta or Winwin has to come here, those two being considered as dangers. On average, there are usually about seven doctors in one room for a regular check-up for other members for accuracy and safety reasons. So having four doctors there is not much.

As if on cue, the other three doctors, two males and one woman, enter the room with clipboards in hand and equipment rolling behind them. 

“Lee Donghyuck, it appears something went wrong with your ability today. You froze at a dance that you were already taught and mastered. We’ll be running some tests on you to make sure you are fully functioning,” one of the male doctors says.

Haechan tries not to shiver at the word “functioning”. Being deemed not functioning is the worst thing that can ever happen to you. Either they’d take you back and experiment on you until you can become useful again or they discard you completely. Being discarded means they either kill you and use your dead body for “scientific” purposes or cause you to go brain dead and then use you in the name of science. Yuta once told him how a failed experiment looks and is treated and it is something no one wants done to them.

God, he prays he’s functioning. 

Without warning, he’s injected with a needle and his mind hazes. Believe it or not, it’s an act of kindness and mercy when they sedate you. They didn’t do that for anyone during the experiments, letting them suffer through it all so as to prevent any potential problems during it. To be sedated means nothing will be felt and if it is, you’re extremely calm throughout it.

Not everyone in their group can be sedated though. Mark can’t because his body burns out the injection inhumanly fast. Winwin can’t because of some reason the doctors themselves refuse to explain to any of them, always being extremely secretive when it comes to things about him and Yuta. Jaehyun can’t be sedated because his heart already beats at a slower pace than everyone, sedation could stop his heart altogether.

Haechan is glad that he can be so he’ll take this blessing willingly.

The entirety of the check-up goes by in a fog. Though at times he hears the sounds of confusion and discussion, he physically does it have it in him to worry. Exhaustion mixed with sedatives is one hell of a drug. He is conscious enough and responsive enough to understand what they’re saying though. 

The results of each test appear normal. They aren’t receiving anything that is telling them why what happened today happened. They’re baffled and can’t seem to find an answer. 

He’s less drugged up by the time they are finally finished three hours later, one of the longest check-up examinations he’s had.

Now that the drug is not in his system as much, he has it in him to worry about what is going on. If they didn’t find anything, that means he’s good right? He won’t have to go through any more tests, right?

“After completing a number of tests, it appears that you are perfectly healthy,” the second male doctor says to him. 

“So what happened with my abilities earlier?” He can’t help but ask.

He avoids using the word “powers” because they hate hearing that word. They say it makes their science and hard work sound like a comic book. 

“It seems that mental exhaustion is the cause,” the second female doctor says in a condescending tone, as if the mere thought of exhaustion causing issues is stupid. 

“As you already know, your abilities obviously only work when you are awake. Your body tried to get you to go to sleep and because of this, you couldn’t focus and your abilities faltered for a moment,” the first female doctor says.

In other words, he was so tired that his body tried to shut down. No wonder everything was foggy in his head when he was trying to think of what the song was.

“So what should I do?” he says.

Part of him is hoping that they’ll tell him to take a day or at least half a day to rest. If him being so tired is what caused him to falter then surely it makes sense for him to rest. Management rarely goes against the doctors’ order when it comes to 127 so if they say for him to rest then that is what is going to happen.

“Make sure you sleep tonight before you go to do your activities tomorrow. To think, something as trivial as fatigue messing with something as complex as his ability,” the first male replies. 

If it's even possible, Haechan feels like his body lost even more energy at those words. He’s still going to have to do his schedule tomorrow. All he has is tonight to get some rest before he starts working again. And now that it’s confirmed that it’s nothing seriously wrong with him, he’s still going to be expected to be perfect even if he’s tired. 

“Alright thank you,” Haechan says.

He is dismissed and it takes way too much energy as he goes back up to leave. Sedation always leaves his body feeling heavy and that’s on a good day. So today where he’s tired physically, mentally, and most likely emotionally, he doesn't know how he’s able to walk.

The second he steps foot outside the building, a rush of wind passes him and Mark is suddenly standing next to him. It’s all too quick for the eyes that even Haechan can’t seem to question the sudden appearance and it feels as if he was always standing there. The mind truly is a wonder. 

“You know you could have been seen right?” Haechan says tiredly to him.

“Don’t worry, I was careful. You were there for a long time, what happened?” Mark says.

Haechan sighs, his body threatening to fall with the drop of his shoulders. 

“I’m fine. Apparently, my mental exhaustion was the cause for all this and my body tried to get me to go to sleep. In other words, I’m too tired to function,” he says.

Mark seems relieved that there is nothing too serious going on with the younger but also frowns at how drained he looks. He looks more tired than he did this entire day.

“Are they going to let you rest?” Mark asks.

Haechan shakes his head no but immediately regrets doing so. He forgot how dizzy sedation makes him feel. He feels his body sway and his eyes get heavy. 

“Hyuck?” Mark says worriedly.

“I’m want to sleep now,” Haechan responds.

Mark moves to hold him up and Haechan rests his head on the elder's shoulder.

“I’ll call someone to come pick us up,” Mark says.

Haechan sleepily nods. He knows that even if they didn’t get picked us, Mark would find a way to carry him and run back if it got to that point. He knows he is safe with Mark.

So he closes his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After the concert, I felt hella motivated to write so I'm glad I got this chapter done. Keep supporting these boys guys cause they're so so amazing. That was one of the best concerts I've ever been to and I'm not even exaggerating. They are extremely talented (Haechan's vocals actually made me cry), super sweet (Yuta's smile cured my depression for like a good week), and really adorable (if only I could explain this in detail). 
> 
> Give all of NCT (EVERY UNIT AND YES THAT INCLUDES WAYV) your genuine support!
> 
> Come talk to me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/EVXinav)
> 
> Or ask me a question on [Curious Cat](https://curiouscat.me/EvXina)
> 
> See you guys next time.


	8. There's no good in being charming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: There is a punishment in this chapter which involves some violence.

**Ex·haust·ed**

/iɡˈzôstəd/

_adjective_

  1. drained of one's physical or mental resources; very tired.  
_"I was cold and exhausted"_



Synonyms: tired out, worn out, weary, dog-tired, bone-tired, bone-weary, ready to drop, on one’s last legs, asleep on one’s feet, drained, fatigued, enervated, debilitated, spent;  


Under synonyms, they should add NCT 127 because, at this moment in time, that’s the only thing they seem to be.

The entire dictionary along with a thesaurus cannot explain the level of exhaustion they are feeling. It just hasn’t been a good month for them. From Winwin coming late to practice to Mark breaking his leg and being punished to a bad show and being pinned against each other after it to Haechan having to go see the doctors, it’s been one hell of a month—literally. It’s just one thing after another and they just don’t understand it. 

As SM’s special cases, they make it their mission to be on the best behavior. Sure, every artist under SM has to be extremely careful with what they do—almost every injury and or hiatus that an idol has had that seemed normal were actually caused by “corrections”—but NCT 127 has to be inhumanly careful. That is what they are to SM after all; inhuman. No, superhuman. That is the concept they are promoting now, isn’t it?

In either case, having those godforsaken abilities means that they can handle more than a regular person. Mark got hit by a car at high speed for goodness sake and walked away with only a broken leg. Their bodies can just handle more. Due to that, their punishments will always be worse than any other idol. They can survive things that would permanently cripple a person or put them in a mental hospital for the rest of their lives. And even if they couldn’t, Yuta is there to heal their bodies and Taeyong is there to heal their minds, therefore, no reason to go easier on them in SM’s mind. It’s just a fact of their lives, they are at a much higher risk than the rest so they cannot afford to mess up.

Not to mention, if SM ever feels like they aren’t good enough, the threat still remains that they can drag the other members of NCT into their nightmare. They could make NCT as a whole their perfect little group if they feel 127 isn’t cutting it anymore. There is a reason why 127 have more comebacks and tours more than any other unit in NCT and that’s because SM views them as superior and more popular. If SM ever feels otherwise, 127 has no doubt that management would go back on their word and begin experimenting on the other members. They don’t even want to think about the others going through the experiments, especially not the Dreamies who are still so young.

So to protect themselves and their friends, they have to be on their best behavior. They have to be perfect.

But this past month hasn’t been kind to them and it seems that they can do no right. Everything has been taking a bad turn despite their constant efforts to stay on the good side of management. They must have done something to the world for this to happen to them despite all of their efforts. Whatever it was, they truly and deeply apologize for it from the bottom of their hearts.

They’re sorry so can they please get a break now?

“Again.”

They hold back a groan at the word. They’ve been at it for hours without a break and they’re really feeling it.

They’re at training for their abilities—actual training; not the punishment that rep put them through before—which is a semi-regular thing that happens by the orders of the doctors to make sure their abilities stay in tiptop shape. It’s not anything like their tests or check-ups and definitely not like their punishments. It’s supposed to be like when an athlete trains to keep up their skills and they oftentimes do not dread it completely. Right now though, they are absolutely hating it.

“I _really_ wish the doctors ordered bed rest,” Haechan mumbles, trying to ignore the aching in his body.

He’s already been taught another instrument, a form of math he didn’t even know existed, and a new range to sing and it hasn’t even been half of a day. Not only is his head killing him, but his body is also begging him to give up and sleep for an entire day if not more.

“That...would have been...too nice...of them,” Mark replies, trying to catch his breath.

Mark just had to run 50 laps straight in under thirty seconds three different times and while his internal organs do operate much faster than everyone else’s, he’s pretty sure his heart is beating a bit too fast.

_‘How are you both holding up?’_ Taeyong asks them in their mind.

Haechan winces as he turns to the elder.

“Please don’t go in my head, it hurts too much right now,” he replies, rubbing his temples.

Taeyong gives him an apologetic look.

“Sorry, it’s becoming a habit right now,” he says.

Taeyong’s training has been to reach multiple minds at once and to further his distance with his telepathy. Reps aren’t too eager to be test rats—go figure—so they use interns as target practice for the members. Taeyong’s final test is always to erase/change their memories so only those who are supposed to know about 127 know what goes on. Unfortunately though, if he keeps using his powers for an extended period of time, he’ll have a difficult time to stop using it. One time, after one of the doctors’ tests, he was mute for almost three days, only being able to communicate through telepathy until his mind finally remembered that he could speak. It was not fun to say the least.

Jungwoo points to Taeyong and nods, a signal that he agrees with what he said.

Jungwoo’s training usually is just using his charms on the interns, which always makes him feel bad because he feels like he’s messing with people’s minds. And like Taeyong, when he uses his power repeatedly or for a long time, he sometimes has trouble to stop using it. The charm just sits there on his vocal cords and doesn’t go away for a bit. When he thinks it’s getting close to that point, he tries not to speak, or to speak very little, so his vocal cords can get a rest.

“I think my heart is going to explode if I do another thirty seconds,” Mark says gripping his chest.

Jaehyun slowly turns to him and it isn’t hard to miss the look in his eyes. One eye looks completely focused here but the other looks spaced-out.

“I  t h i n k  m y  h e a r t  w i l l  s t o p  i f  I  s l o w  d o w n  t i m e  a g a i n,” he says, words coming out his mouth slow and drawn out.

With his ability, his body is also affected. Whereas Mark’s body naturally runs faster, including his heart, Jaehyun’s body naturally runs slower. If a normal doctor was to hear his heartbeat, they would think there was something wrong with him because of how slow it beats. When he slows down time, his body slows down a bit more as well. He can move normally but his breathing slows and his heartbeat follows the pace of time. Holding time at a slow pace and repeatedly slowing and starting time are two different things. He’ll be tired after slowing down time for a bit but other than that, he’s okay. But repeatedly slowing time down messes with his heart too much.

Of course, the reps and doctors know this fact along with everyone else’s limits so really the group will never be pushed to the actual point where their bodies would give out on them or some other permanent damage could happen. But they sure do get damn close to it.

“It better not and that goes for the both of you, I can only heal not bring back the dead,” Yuta says, hands on his knees and looking a bit queasy.

His training always just consists of healing any injury the reps can get their hands on. From paper cuts on an intern’s hand to a broken bone the intern just received, he has to heal it all. He often wonders how do they find so many injuries that could be healed without it looking suspicious but then he tells himself that he doesn’t want to know because SM is cruel and always has a way. Unfortunately, frequent healing makes him extremely nauseous.

“Keep saying that, and they’ll make it where you can,” Doyoung says, using his head to gesture toward the trainer who is currently looking at his phone, too busy to realize that they haven’t started again.

His training isn’t physically demanding like the others and doesn’t drain him as much as Haechan’s abilities do to the younger. It’s almost all memory tests and pop quizzes as if he was back in school. Usually, he is put against Haechan if the younger learns something new academically to see who can gain the higher score. The loser is usually subjected to more learning which is a pain. He does gain a headache from all of the fast pace tests but compared to what the others get, he won’t complain.

Yuta tries to give him a look but it quickly falls when another wave of nausea hits him. He clearly needs to take a seat.

“I don’t know who’s tiredness I’m feeling, or if it’s all of you guys, or if it’s my own but I don’t know if I can continue,” Taeil says.

His training often goes hand in hand with either Taeyong or Yuta or both. His control and range are tested just as Taeyong is and if he’s working with Yuta then he has to read the emotions of those who the younger is healing or make them feel a certain emotion, sorta like an anesthetic. It’s very exhausting for him to keep doing so though.

“I think it’s all of us and I don’t know if any of us can continue honestly,” Johnny says, rubbing his throat.

A sore throat is one of the worst things for someone whose ability is strictly reliant on their voice. For Johnny, it’s the absolute worst thing because it reminds him of his experiment. Sadly for him, whenever he uses his ability too much, his throat begins to hurt. If he continues on, he would lose his voice and gaining it back always hurts like hell. It’s as if his vocal cords have to once again readjust to whatever code in his DNA gives him his ability. He absolutely hates losing his voice and will do anything to try and prevent that from happening. This training, which is making him use his abilities on the interns like Jungwoo has to, is not making it easy though.

“We’re really asking for a miracle if we think we can continue without a single break,” Yuta says as he is being helped to stand up steadily by Winwin.

“We are the miracles, remember,” Winwin says sarcastically.

Winwin’s training generally consists of lifting and carrying things. Of course, his full strength is never tested unless he is surrounded by doctors and equipment that can help restrain him–they haven’t found a good way to fully restrain him other than fear and threats—so there’s a weight limit on what he is allowed to lift and or carry. The worst he has experienced during and after training is aching muscles. It’ll put him out of commission for about a day, or more if it’s really bad, and if management is feeling nice to him, they’ll give him at least two days to recover because they realize that he literally cannot move without being in pain.

“Hey! Why haven’t any of you started again?! I told you to do it again!” The trainer shouts.

This time a few of them do groan out of pure reaction. They really just want to stop.

“Can’t we just call it a day now?” Jungwoo says aloud, not even realizing that he spoke.

They all realize what happened only a second after, though, when all of the people in the room suddenly but and naturally turn towards the charmer.

“Of course you guys can. I don’t know what I was thinking, you worked hard enough,” the trainer says, giving a soft look to Jungwoo.

At the same time, a look of horror crosses all of their faces at once.

“Oh crap did I-”

Jungwoo covers his mouth before he can continue, noticing the soft lilt to his voice and how it causes everyone but his members to focus more on him. He turns to the other members with a scared look on his face.

He isn’t in fear alone.

“You-you just charmed the trainer. You just used your ability on a staff member,” Haechan says dumbfoundedly.

If it’s one rule that was drilled in their heads, it’s that they are absolutely not allowed to use their abilities on any of the staff members unless directed otherwise. It’s one of the first rules they were told. It’s a rule they’re supposed to take very seriously.

They all look at the trainer to see that he still has this captured look on his face as he stares at Jungwoo. They turn away quickly as if they were looking at the most terrifying thing they have ever seen.

“This is so bad. Like so so so bad,” Mark says.

Doyoung, who is closest to the trainer, takes the risk and snaps his fingers a few times in front of the man’s face. When he receives no response, he tries clapping and waving. Nothing works on taking away the man’s attention from Jungwoo.

“He’s fully under the charm. He’s not breaking out of this any time soon,” Doyoung concludes with a grimace.

Winwin, Yuta, and Johnny go to check to see if it’s the same for the other people in the room. They physically shake some of the people but no one turns away from Jungwoo.

“Damn, your charm was really strong this time. If that was directed towards us, we would have been like this too,” Johnny says.

“I didn’t mean to, I swear I didn’t!” Jungwoo says.

He slaps his hand back over his mouth though when those trapped in his charm sigh in content, his power pulling them in more. 

“Okay, so don’t speak for a bit. You were pushed past your limit and that charming tone isn’t going to go away for a while. If you have anything to say, just gesture to me and I’ll read your mind and say it aloud,” Taeyong says to him.

Jungwoo nods with slumped shoulders.

“Try using your ability, maybe it can snap them out of it,” Taeil suggests to Johnny.

They don’t know if that’s how that works but logically speaking, a charmer should be able to cancel out another charmer, right?

They have nothing else to lose—they’re already in deep waters—so might as well give it a try.

Johnny faces one of the interns who are still in dreamland from Jungwoo’s charm.

“Look at me. Snap out of his trance,” he commands.

The intern does turn to Johnny, a breakthrough in this situation.

But any possible hope they could have had at the movement is shattered when she says, “I would but isn’t he so adorable? He’s right, you guys really deserve a break.”

She turns back to look at Jungwoo and they know they’re definitely screwed now.

“I had a feeling that wouldn’t work. While you’re both charmers, your abilities work in different ways. Yours puts thoughts into people’s mind, gets them to think how you want them to think. That requires a clear mind on their part. Jungwoo’s, however, is like a fog. It affects their mind differently. My guess is because he was training his ability for some time just now, his charm was stronger than it should have been at the moment which is why no one is breaking out of it,” Doyoung says, analyzing the situation.

“If this wasn’t such a serious matter, I’d call you a witch. But this is extremely serious and oh god what are we going to do?” Haechan says looking around to the others.

“What can we do? If we leave and someone comes in then they’ll know what happened for sure. But if we stay they’ll all just keep staring at Jungwoo which will make it harder for them to break free from the charm and if someone comes in when they’re all like that are we’re still here, that will look extremely bad. We are in a very risky position either way,” Yuta says.

Well when he puts it likes that, it really sounds bad.

“What if Taeyong hyung clears their mind? If they forget like they’re supposed to then they won’t be charmed, right?” Winwin says, looking to Doyoung for confirmation.

They can see Doyoung working the idea out in his mind. They hope it’s at least an idea on the right track because they really have nothing else.

“It’ll work for the interns but we still have to figure out an idea for the trainer because we can’t erase his memory or else we’ll really be in trouble,” Doyoung responds.

“Alright, that’s a start though. Hyung get to work while we try to think of another idea,” Jaehyun says.

Taeyong doesn’t waste any time and gets moving on erasing the memories of the interns. Luckily for them, there’s always a few minutes of blurriness after memory has been changed so they can continue talking about the matter at hand.

“Okay, so does anyone have an idea? While we’re at it, maybe we should block his view of hyung,” Mark says.

Johnny, being the tallest, steps in front of the trainer and makes sure that no matter what the man does not have sight of Jungwoo. Hopefully, keeping his sight away from Jungwoo will help them in this mess.

“What could we do? It’s not like we could use our abilities on him. That’s exactly the opposite of what we want to do right now,” Yuta says.

“So what, we leave him in a trance and hope he snaps out of it soon?” Haechan replies.

“But we don’t know how long the charm will be on him,” Taeil says.

Taeyong seems to finally finish what he was doing, feeling more exhausted as expected. He opens and closes his mouth, most likely trying to test his voice. He’s clearly close to his limit.

“Jungwoo says that because he spoke three times and his charm was stronger due to using it so much, the trance most likely isn’t going to break for a while, maybe an hour,” Taeyong says, rubbing his throat a bit.

They all wince at the ‘hour’ part. That’s much longer than they were hoping.

“Okay, that’s not good. Also, you should stop using your powers now or else you won’t be able to speak again,” Jaehyun says.

Taeyong nods. He’ll be glad to stop using his powers.

“An hour? What do we do for an hour?” Winwin asks.

“If we leave, it’ll look like we were trying to hide what happened. We can’t do that,” Mark says.

“But Yuta’s right, it’ll also look really bad if we’re here and he’s still under the charm,” Johnny says.

They are in a lose-lose situation. Nothing they can think of will have a good outcome.

“Doyoung hyung, you’re the smart one. What should we do?” Haechan asks, noticing that Doyoung has been a bit silent.

He’s staring at something and his expression isn’t readable. Something tells them though that whatever is going on in his head is not good.

“We wait,” he says, impending doom written all in his voice.

“Wait?” They all ask, minus Jungwoo, in confusion at the same time.

Doyoung nods and somberly gestures with his head in the direction he was staring at.

“The cameras. There are cameras all over this room. They’ve already seen everything,” he says.

The realization hits them like a truck and they look all around the room, suddenly able to spot every camera present.

They’ve been watched this entire time. Management never lets them go unwatched if they are outside their dorm. Everything that just happened, everything they said, management has seen.

At that moment, Taeyong’s phone sounds off, alerting him that he received a text message. He doesn’t even have to guess who it is.

“They were waiting for us to figure it out,” Johnny says.

Management made up in their mind what was going to happen the second Jungwoo opened his mouth after he already charmed everyone. They were just waiting for them to realize that they were caught from the beginning before confirming their fears.

Maybe it is a twisted good thing then that they couldn’t find a way to break the charm, otherwise, that would have looked like they were covering up the mistake. Management hates that, as shown when Mark tried to hide his broken leg.

Taeyong picks up his phone and opens the message with dread. Everyone knows this is not about to be good.

“We’re to send everyone away minus the trainer and wait here for them to pick us up. No one is to move until he snaps out of the trance,” Taeyong says.

That’s even worse for them; they have to wait for their punishment. They have to sit there like lambs waiting to be brought to the slaughterhouse. They’re supposed to sit there in fear.

No one hesitates in getting started in doing what they were told. They’re not on thin ice anymore. The ice broke so now all they can do is try to stay afloat for as long as they can.

They clear out the room, leaving only them and the charmed trainer.

Without anything to do except wait for their punishment, they take a seat in the silence. They’re finally not doing anything and they hate it.

“I don’t want to go back to punishment,” Mark whispers, instinctively reaching for his once broken leg.

No one says anything in reply though. What could they say? They want to comfort him but they have no doubt that this punishment is going to be as bad if not worse than what he went through last time. And quite frankly speaking, they’re all terrified of what’s about to happen.

So instead, Johnny moves closer to him and gives him a hug. It’s not meant to tell him that they’ll be okay or give him false hope. It’s just to show him that they’re going to be with him there. They’re going to that room together.

From that moment on, they all sit in silence. 

It’s official, this month is a cursed month for them. They can’t seem to avoid punishment this month. They always have one month in the year where everything always goes bad. Maybe not bad to the point of being sent to be “corrected” but a lot of unfortunate things. This month takes the cake though.

They would try to mentally prepare themselves for what’s about to happen but there’s nothing they could do to help them with that. All they can do is wait and fear.

The time passes by slowly as if Jaehyun was slowing it down again. But even for the time manipulator, this is too slow. Every time they look over to the trainer and still see that enraptured look, they curse the clock and wish for it to move faster.

It takes one hour, thirteen minutes, and fifty-four seconds for the trainer to finally snap out of it—they all were counting.

It’s a slow process for his mind to finally clear up but that doesn’t matter because he’s aware. And that’s all management was waiting for.

In less than two minutes, the doors to the room open up again. In walks surprisingly only one rep along with five bodyguards—no doubt here just in case a few of them try to run or Winwin decides to put up a fight.

Without a word, one of the bodyguards walk over to Jungwoo and forces a wide black tie over his mouth. It’s tied tightly before he could even have the chance to struggle.

“We can’t have him speaking, now can we?” The rep says, breaking the silence.

It’s a female rep, a terrifying rarity. 

You see, male reps can be taunted, can have hurt pride or masculinity. They often like to have a show of power and because there are so many of them, they try to stand out so they can receive more privileges. But the fear of a male rep doesn’t even come close to the fear one has of a female representative. A female rep doesn’t have to show her power, she doesn’t have to try to stand out, and her pride isn’t as fragile. They can sound so warm talking to you while you’re being punished or sound colder than ice. Her presence alone is often terrifying. She doesn’t need other reps with her to scare them.

They’re really in a lot of trouble this time.

“Come on boys, let’s not waste time now,” she says.

She turns around and walks out of the room, high heels clicking on the floor, walking with a deceivingly calm gait. It’s almost like when your mother promises to punish you for being bad in public but then continues on as if she didn’t just scare the life out of you. This is just a way worse punishment they’re being promised.

They follow her though without resistance. They don’t feel like being manhandled by the bodyguards and resisting always makes things worse. No one says anything or makes eye contact with each other. As they pass people in the hallways, they don’t miss the sorry stares they receive. 

The journey to the correction room is as terrifying as it always is. It’s been a while since they’ve received a group punishment but it still feels much too soon.

When they finally reach there and the door slams behind them, they know this is going to be terrible.

They’re immediately forced on their knees and in a line while Jungwoo is taken to the other side of the room, facing them.

“Alright boys, I’m sure you know why you’re here,” the rep says, standing next to Jungwoo.

No one responds, knowing that they are not supposed to unless directly told to speak.

“Your friend here broke a serious rule. Do you know what that rule is? Let’s see… Haechan, you’re the youngest. Do you know what rule he broke?” She says.

There’s a soft smile on her face. It isn’t chilling or sadistic or even forced. It’s just a regular smile and that’s what scares them even more.

Haechan looks up from the ground slightly, only to show that he heard her and will respond.

“We’re not supposed to use our abilities on any of the staff workers,” he says.

“Yes, gold star. Now, when did you receive that rule? Jaehyun,” she says, looking at him.

She’s purposely dragging the time out, making them wait even longer for their punishment. She’s not even giving them a clue as to what is about to happen to them.

“When we first received our abilities,” Jaehyun responds.

  
She claps happily in response.

“Yes yes, good memory. Another gold star. So what happened today? Taeil, it’s your turn,” she says.

She sounds like a teacher who is excitedly giving her class a pop quiz, one that can make or break a student’s grade in her class. This is a dangerous pop quiz.

“While training, our trainer fell under Jungwoo’s charm after he spoke,” Taeil says.

He wants to say it was an accident and it wasn’t directed at the trainer but he knows that she doesn’t want to hear that. She knows that anyway but she doesn’t care.

“Oh you boys are doing so well today, another gold star. Now, if Jungwoo here next to me is the one who broke the rule, then why are you all here? Does anyone know?” She says.

They aren’t too sure but she didn’t address anyone directly so they’re guessing that they are not supposed to respond. So they stay silent, waiting for her to speak again.

“Hmm? No one knows? That’s okay, I’ll tell you,” she says after a few seconds of waiting.

She snaps her fingers.

The sound of wind breaking followed by a pained scream takes their attention off of her and to Winwin who is currently no longer on his knees but stomach flat on the ground.

Behind him stands a bodyguard with a whip in his hand.

That’s when they notice that all of the bodyguards have whips in their hands.

“No, no, no Winwin, back on your knees. And don’t even try to move Yuta or else it’ll be worse,” she says, making a tutting sound as if she’s talking to small children.

Winwin forces himself back on his knees, whimpering at the movement. Lashes in general hurt like hell but with that flaw in his skin, he’s in a pain like no other.

“Now to answer the question, you’re all here for a few reasons,” she says.

She snaps her fingers again.

Wind breaks again and this time it’s Haechan who was hit. He bites back his scream as he puts all his will into staying in the position he is supposed to be in.

“One: no one stopped him from doing so,” she says.

It’s a stupid reason, how could they have known that he was already past his limit? But they cannot and will not argue.

She snaps.

Doyoung lets out a pained noise as the whip hits his back. The others next to him are rigid in fear for themselves and each other. 

Any one of them is next and they don’t have a clue who. It’s Russian roulette but they aren’t the ones holding the gun.

“Two: you did not immediately inform anyone after the deed was done,” she continues.

This time they close their eyes as they see her raise her hand.

Snap.

Johnny is the one who feels the stinging burn of a whip next.

“Three: you tried to help him fix his action.”

Four who have already been hit and five who haven’t—since it looks like Jungwoo is not going to be receiving any lashes—and they’re wondering if she really has five more reasons.

Snap.

Pain spreads on Taeyong’s back and he almost falls down on his hands. He straightens up though, knowing that he has to.

“Four: you used your abilities in order to help him cover his deed.”

Snap.

Yuta bites his tongue to prevent himself from screaming.

“I told you not to move Yuta,” she says.

She hears a sound and looks down to Jungwoo crying next to her. He’s on his hands and knees, eyes shut tightly as he shakes his head.

She squats down to his level and puts a gentle hand on his face.

“What’s wrong Jungwoo? Can’t stand to see them be hit all because of your actions?” She asks with false care.

He shakes his head fiercely, mouth still covered but whimpers slipping through the cloth.

“Look at me Jungwoo,” she says.

But his eyes stay close as tears fall from them.

She snaps.

The sound of Taeil’s pained gasp gets Jungwoo to snap his eyes open and look at the rep, just how she wanted.

“That’s a good boy. Now, do you feel bad that they’re being hurt because of you?” She says.

She snaps again and Jaehyun is the one who was whipped.

Jungwoo flinches at the sound, guilt crushing him. 

He nods yes, the honest answer but also the one she wanted to receive regardless. 

“Aww, you poor thing. It must feel terrible that they’re the ones being harmed but you’re the one who broke the rule. How does it feel to watch them as you sit all the way over here, safe from any whips?” She says, giving him a pout as if she really cared.

Wind suddenly breaks again and Mark screams. She didn’t snap so Mark wasn’t expecting the hit to come.

“Oops, did I forget to snap? My bad. That one is close to you, isn’t he?” She says.

Jungwoo’s body shakes as he cries. He’s so upset. He never ever wants to cause pain for his friends but here he is, sitting without a scratch on him, as the others take the punishment.

“Oh don’t feel so bad. They deserve it too. Look at this as a reminder to you all,” she says.

She grabs his face, nails digging into his cheeks as she stares him down.

“We **own** you. We gave you those gifts. We gave you everything you have now. So you little freaks better never forget who is in charge. You are to NEVER use your ability on a staff member. We are higher than you and we give you your orders. Am I clear?”

Her words are clear and pointed. The eye contact she has with him never breaks. It’s as if she is staring into her soul as she drills the words in his head. She doesn’t wait for his response though.

“Ten lashes, all of them,” she orders.

Jungwoo doesn’t even have time to protest before the first scream is heard. Over and over, he hears the sound of the whips hitting his friends’ backs. Winwin’s screams are the loudest, he no doubt being in the most pain. Jungwoo hears every whimper and choked scream that comes from any one of them though. He hears them all and it tears him apart.

He shakes his head rapidly, tears falling harder than before.

“Oh, do you want it to stop?” She asks.

He nods his head yes desperately, even though he knows this is a game to her.

She holds her hand up and the whips immediately halt.

Jungwoo doesn’t even take the chance to look at his friends. He knows he’s going to breakdown more if he sees the pain they’re in.

“You can make it so that they don’t receive anymore. Do you want to do that?” She says.

Once again, he nods frantically. He doesn’t want them to receive anymore. He doesn’t want them to hurt anymore.

“Well then, if you want this to stop all you have to do is use your charm on them. Make it as strong as you did before and put them under your spell for as long as that poor trainer was,” she says.

He freezes.

He doesn’t want to put them under his charm. He doesn’t want to take away their free will like that. Before it was an accident but if he does that right now, that would mean he purposely did that to them; he purposely put them under his charm.

“What’s this? You’re hesitating? I guess you don’t really want them to be free from their pain. Continue on, add ten more to wherever you left off at,” she says nonchalantly.

Jungwoo screams through his covering, the sound coming out muffled but emotions coming through clear. He tries to scramble over to them, to at least be punished with them, but he is pulled back by his hair.

“No, no, no, you had your chance to save them. I told you what you had to do and you hesitated so now you sit here and watch them suffer. You should be happy that I let them keep their shirts on to block some of the sting,” she says, nails digging into his scalp.

The sounds that come through his covering are incoherent but it’s clear that he is begging her to stop. He’s begging for his friends. Despite the hand gripping his hair tightly, he’s still trying to reach them and begging for them to no longer be harmed.

“Oh, you’re becoming feisty. You want to save them, how sweet. But you know what you have to do for that to happen. Another ten since he’s getting rowdy,” she says.

He screams again and nods his head to the best of his ability. He tries to shout through his covering that he’ll do it. He’ll use his charm on them if it means he can stop this.

She seems to understand what he’s saying because she lets go of him and looks back into his eyes.

“Are you saying you’ll do it? Will you use your charm on them?” She asks.

He nods and it breaks his heart to do so but this is the lesser evil of the two.

She smiles at him brightly.

“Good boy, I knew you’d make the right choice,” she says.

She unties his mouth covering and he almost chokes from being able to breathe properly.

“Go ahead. Use it on them and only them. And it better be just as strong too,” she says.

He turns to them, filled with remorse. He immediately wants to close his eyes as he sees their condition. 

Winwin is on his stomach again and has blood coloring the back of his shirt. The whip most likely broke through his skin after the second lashing.

Johnny and Jaehyun are still on their knees but their face is red and filled with pain. No doubt, they tried extremely hard to hold back their screams and to stay strong.

Haechan is staring at the ground with an angry look on his face but it’s clear that he’s doing it to cover the tears streaming from his eyes and the pain flooding his back.

Taeyong and Taeil are on their hands and knees, out of breath but trying to look alright. As the oldest and the leader, they probably felt a responsibility to stay as strong as they could for their members. As an empath and a telepath, they definitely heard and felt the pain the others were going through and made it their mission to not add any more worry to the mix.

Doyoung is also on his hands and knees. His eyes are closed and his face is twisted in pain. He’s board-stiff as if the slightest movement is unbearable and it probably is.

Mark’s and Yuta’s bodies are already trying to heal itself—since Mark’s body systems run much faster than everyone else's and Yuta’s naturally heals itself—but their lashes were especially hard because of this fact. Mark is resting on his elbows, gritting his teeth from the pain as tears also fall from his eyes while Yuta is cursing up a storm under his breath in Japanese.

Jungwoo stares at them and it keeps the tears flowing.

This is all his fault. They’re crying, they’re hurting, Winwin is BLEEDING, all because of him.

He takes a deep breath and silently apologizes to them. If this can save them from any more pain then he has to do it.

“NCT 127… my-my friends. Can you please look at me?” He says.

He can hear the sweet lilt that controls his words even as he speaks through his tears. He’s never hated his power more than he does today.

They all look up to him and he chokes on a sob when he sees the glazed over look in their eyes.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” he says, breaking down and giving in to his tears but his charm still in his voice.

He’s terrible. He’s a horrible member. He caused his friends so much pain and now, he’s using his power on them. He’s taking away their will.

“It’s okay Jungwoo, it’s not your fault,” Taeyong says, voice sounding far away.

“Yeah, don’t cry hyung,” Mark says.

Normally reassuring words make him feel even worse because he knows that they’re only saying that because they’re under his charm.

So he cries harder.

“I’m so sorry. This is all my fault. I’m so sorry,” he cries.

It’s the third time he spoke making it the same amount of times he spoke earlier. That means he put them under the same amount as he accidentally did the trainer. He did what he had to do.

He faces the rep, her figure blurry from the tears, and bows his head in apology to her.

“How touching. You really care about them. Well, since you were such a good boy just now, they won’t receive any more lashings,” she says, smiling once more.

He hiccups and sighs at the same time, relieved that they’re safe now but still crying about it all.

“Can we go back now?” He whispers, just in case the charm is still on his vocal cords.

She cheerfully shakes her head no.

“No you cannot,” she whispers, mocking him.

His head snaps up and his eyes widen in surprise.

“But I-”

She cuts him off.

“You are all going to stay here until that charm on them wears off. That may be a while since they can see you no matter where you stand in this room but I’m sure you’ll find a way to keep yourself occupied. The guards will be outside the room to make sure you don’t leave any time before then,” she chirps.

His face falls and along with it so does his posture. He slouches over in despair, head hanging low in shame and sadness.

“Aww don’t look so sad, consider this good ‘ol bonding time. Oh, and I hope you guys find a way back to your dorm without gaining too much attention. Have fun now,” she says.

Her high heels click-clack through the room as she leaves with a light wave, the bodyguards following after her. The door closes behind them with that deafening sound and just like that, they’re left alone.

Jungwoo takes another look at his friends. He sees their captivated looks and it hurts him so much. He doesn’t know if he’ll be able to last the entire time while they’re under this trance but he owes it to them to at the very least not wallow in his own despair when they were the ones suffering.

He has to stay composed for them. At least while they’re under the charm, they won’t think about their pain. They can forget about the painful lashes on their backs because they’re so enamored with him. That’s probably the only good thing his power is doing today.

And when the moment comes and they can all finally leave, he’ll make it up to them. He’ll find a way to help them back to the dorm. He’ll beg for their forgiveness and find a way to show them how sorry he truly is that he caused this. He’ll do everything he can to make up for dragging them into this punishment. 

But until then, he’ll sit there waiting for them to come back to their senses.

_‘I’m so sorry.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come talk to me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/EVXinav)
> 
> Ask a question on [Curious Cat](https://curiouscat.me/EvXina)


	9. The aftermath of a punishment

Getting everyone back to the dorm was as hard as everyone knew it was going to be.

During the time Jungwoo was waiting for everyone to snap out of his trance, he tried to think of every possible way to get them back to the dorms with the least issues. But every idea he had got shot down in his mind.

First, he thought about texting the other NCT members to help him. Their sheer numbers will be enough to hide the others’ pain so no peeking eyes can see. But that was a no go because one, he didn’t want them to see the extent of their pain and two, rumors will be all over the place if the entirety of NCT is seen together. SM hates having to deal with unnecessary rumors which would mean another trip back to this cursed room.

When that was shot down, he thought about just going upstairs and then begging a company driver to give them a ride. SM cars are always tinted so no one can look in while they’re in there. The problem with that though is he doesn’t know if that rep lady told workers to not help them so it could be a waste of time or get them in more trouble.

After a few more failed ideas, he even thought about using his charm on his member once again so that their minds won’t register their pain as they are moving. But he immediately got rid of the idea once he remembered that the guards outside will be looking for all of them to have a clear mind. That and he really couldn’t push himself to use his power again for a long time, especially not on them. The idea of using his power on anyone just makes him sick. He doesn’t even want to speak so that idea was out.

So out of ideas and only making himself more depressed, he sat and waited in silence for the others to come back to their senses.

The moment they did come back to their senses was almost as heartbreaking as the moment they lost it.

Groans and whimpers came from their mouths and Jungwoo just wanted to block it all out. The pain registered in their minds and it came at them full force all at once. It was distressing.

But none of them wanted to spend any more time being in that horrible room so they had to put the pain aside for a moment. They asked Jungwoo what was going on and what they were supposed to do but he didn’t reply, half afraid that he’d accidentally charm them and half believing that he didn’t deserve to speak so he stayed quiet. Taeyong decided to take the liberty and read his mind so as to find out what was going on and then told the others of the situation. They themselves tried to come up with ideas on how to get back but they were met with the same problems Jungwoo was met with.

It was eventually decided that they would have to suck it up and do it on their own, pretending that they aren’t in pain. 

Yuta, Mark, and Jungwoo helped the others stand up since Jungwoo was in perfect health and Mark’s and Yuta’s bodies were slightly more healed than everyone else’s. Yuta primarily helped Winwin since he was the one in the most pain. Despite being tired, he healed the younger enough so as to stop the bleeding and then stayed near him to be a source of comfort and physical support.

Once everyone was up and standing, they put on their best celebrity faces and acted as if everything was okay. The entire way back, they smiled and stayed close to each other so no one would think something is suspicious. The only thing a bit out of the ordinary was the fact that Yuta was clinging to Winwin and the younger seemed to allow it but that was because Winwin couldn’t stand on his own so help was needed. Other than that though, everyone acted as normal as they could despite the screaming pain they were in on the inside.

For someone else, this would be impossible. After the number of lashings they were given, no one normal would be able to move, let alone walk as if nothing was wrong. But they were altered to do the impossible after all. They did what they had to do.

By the time they made it back to the dorm though, their strength and determination were gone so they couldn’t even make it to their bedrooms.

Which is how everyone ended up in the living room, wallowing in their pain.

Even Mark and Yuta who are a bit better off than the others are with everyone, quietly groaning in pain. Jungwoo was the only one who was able to move around without any pain and so he uses that blessing to help his friends out.

The very first thing he decides he has to do is to help Yuta recover more since if their healer is up and running then they can be up and running in due time as well. 

He walks over to where Yuta is laying, deciding that he has to check on Yuta’s wounds first. So he takes the older’s arm and puts it around his shoulders. Then with all his strength, he hauls Yuta up—he could feel that Yuta was also putting in effort so he doesn’t have to strain too much—and steadies him on his feet. 

The next stop: the bathroom.

Slowly, he walks with Yuta to the bathroom, doing all he can to give the healer physical support. The trek to the bathroom seems longer than ever but they’ll make it there eventually. When they’re finally in the bathroom, Jungwoo closes the door behind him and sits Yuta down on the toilet seat lid. When he’s sure that Yuta won’t sway over and fall, he removes his support and stands up straight.

“You don’t have to worry about my wounds you know. They’ll be completely healed in a matter of minutes. I’ll be up and ready to heal the others soon, I promise,” Yuta says.

The tiredness on his face says otherwise though. Jungwoo felt how heavy his body felt while they were walking. Whether the wounds heal on their own or not, they still should be checked.

Jungwoo shakes his head no and begins to gently take off Yuta’s shirt so he could see his back. Yuta resists though, trying to hold his shirt down.

“I’m okay, worry about one of the others. Or better yet, worry about yourself. You shouldn’t have to look at our wounds. We already know you’re wrongly blaming yourself, don’t torture yourself more,” Yuta says, words coming across a bit firm but the softness behind them can be heard clearly.

It’s no secret that Jungwoo believes that this is all his fault. It’s also not a secret that they know that nothing they say will ever convince him to believe otherwise. That being said, him seeing their wounds will only cause guilt to eat him up more. He shouldn’t put himself through it.

But to Jungwoo, that’s all the more reason for him to help. He has to help them because he’s the only one not in physical pain. He owes it to them to help them. He put them in this situation. His punishment was nothing compared to theirs; more guilt is what he deserves. He needs to see the extent of the damage he caused.

So he shakes his head no once again and continues to try and take off Yuta’s shirt. Yuta continues to resist though.

“You won’t even speak to us. Don’t put yourself through more. Why don’t you go to the store and grab some stuff for so we don’t have to leave any time soon? By the time you come back, I’ll be fine and already healing the others,” Yuta says, trying to get Jungwoo to release his shirt.

But Jungwoo just shakes his head no once more and gives Yuta a pleading look. He wants to help in any way possible. He’ll go to the store later but he will help with the physical stuff too.

Yuta sighs, seeing the stubborn determination in the younger’s eyes. He’s not going to get very far with this he can tell so he has to try a different approach.

“Alright, let’s make a compromise. If I let you look over my wounds, you have to go to the store after I head back to the living room. I’ll tell you everything you need to get and you make sure you take your time to get it all. If by the time you come back there are still a few left who needs to be healed, I’ll let you stay and help. If not though, you have to accept that, okay? My wounds are enough for you to see,” he says.

At least with his wounds, they’re not as bad as they originally were due to his body healing itself. His wounds look nothing like Winwin’s or any of the others for that matter. If Jungwoo is going to see one of their wounds, it’s better that it be his only.

Jungwoo thinks about the compromise. He knows Yuta can be as stubborn, if not more stubborn than him. As much as he wants to be able to help them all and be with them every step of the way, Yuta would make sure he doesn’t. At least with the compromise, he’ll be able to help one of them. He has no doubt that Yuta will try to heal everyone by the time he returns but there is a chance that someone will be left for him to help. Either way, he’d rather help one person than to help no one.

Jungwoo nods in agreement and Yuta sighs in relief.

“Alright then. You can help me,” Yuta says.

He finally allows Jungwoo to take off his shirt gently and put it in the dirty hamper. Dry blood is a hell of a stain to get out but they’ll deal with that later.

Jungwoo slowly walks over to face Yuta’s back. He’s almost afraid of what he’s going to see but he has to do this. He closes his eyes and tries to mentally prepare himself for this. On the count of three.

1.

2.

3.

A whimper slips past his mouth the second he opens his eyes.

The area around the marks on Yuta’s skin is red and a bit swollen—no doubt worse when he first received them. The marks are one on top of each other in a violent fashion. Jungwoo knows that if he would have seen these marks anytime before now, the color of them would be as violent as they look. And Yuta is one of the better-off ones so he can only imagine what the others look like.

“If you can’t handle it don’t force yourself to. It’s alright, I told you my body will heal itself completely soon,” Yuta says looking back to the younger, not missing the whimpered sound.

Jungwoo shakes his head no. He has to do this. He has to help at least one of them.

Yuta figured he was going to respond as much so he doesn’t try to argue.

“Alright then. If you could help clean the wounds then that would be great. Mine do not have to be wrapped or anything, just cleaned. While my body could fight an infection, it would make things easier if they were cleaned so I wouldn’t have to risk it in the first place,” he says.

Jungwoo nods and goes to grab a washcloth to clean the wounds with. When he gets one, he runs warm water in the sink and lets the washcloth sit under it for a bit. He rings the cloth out and turns off the water. 

He hopes this doesn’t hurt Yuta too much.

Gently he places the cloth around the area of the wound, trying not to move away when he hears Yuta hiss. Slowly but thoroughly, he cleans the wounds, trying to be as gentle as he can. He takes his time to make sure the area is completely clean, not missing a single spot.

When he finishes, he puts the washcloth back in the sink and signals for Yuta to wait there. Yuta understands and nods so Jungwoo leaves the bathroom and heads to Yuta’s room to grab him a nice clean shirt.

He grabs the first loose shirt he can find and rushes back to the bathroom. Before helping Yuta put on the shirt, he decides to take another look at the older’s back to make sure that he didn’t miss a spot.

To his surprise, the marks on his back already look better than when he was cleaning them. They’re practically gone.

“They heal quicker when clean since my body isn’t also trying to fight off an infection anymore. I told you I’ll be alright,” Yuta says, seeming to already know what the younger was thinking.

Jungwoo will never stop being surprised and sorta in awe at Yuta’s abilities. Though the experiment caused him a lot of pain, ironically it made it where he could prevent a lot of pain and heal. It’s comforting to know that even if Yuta does get hurt, he won’t be in pain for long.

He hands Yuta the shirt and the healer puts it on with much more ease than he would have had only moments before.

“Alright, I’m ready. Give me your phone and I’ll type you the list of everything you have to get from the store,” Yuta says.

Jungwoo complies and hands over his unlocked phone. Yuta takes it and opens his notes to make a list of everything they may possibly need.

Even though he’s going to heal the others, no one will be leaving this dorm for the rest of the day, if not also tomorrow. That being said, they’ll need things like stuff to cook and things to drink and a few other items so no one even has to think about going outside. Jungwoo going shopping now is actually a really big help and not just some excuse he made up to get the younger out of the dorm while he deals with the painful stuff.

When he finishes typing everything he thinks they may need, he hands back the phone to Jungwoo.

“Remember to take your time. This is actually important if we want to stay in for a good bit and rest. I promise everything will be okay here,” he says.

Jungwoo looks at the list and nods. If this is all he can do to help then that’s what he’ll do.

Yuta stands up on his own—though Jungwoo keeps his arms out for support just in case—and the two of them leave the bathroom together. Yuta is able to make it to the living room without Jungwoo holding him up so Jungwoo takes that as a good sign. 

When they get to the living room, Yuta pats Jungwoo’s back in an attempt to comfort the younger.

“I got it from here, thanks. We’ll see you soon,” he says.

Once again, Jungwoo doesn’t argue and decides to leave after making sure he has both his phone and his wallet. The sooner he leaves, the sooner he can return.

Once the door closes and Yuta is sure that Jungwoo is a bit away, he lets out a sigh. His body may be almost healed but that doesn’t get rid of the soreness he’s feeling. He didn’t want Jungwoo to see that though so he tried to ignore it.

“I sent Jungwoo to the store to get stuff for us. Hopefully, I can heal all of you guys before he comes back,” Yuta says to the others.

“He saw your wounds?” Taeyong says, forcing himself to sit up a little bit despite the pain.

“Yeah, and like I expected he’s beating himself up for it. Still couldn’t get a word out of him. He really wants to help but we cannot let him see how bad you guys’ backs are,” Yuta responds.

Yuta walks over to Winwin, who hasn’t moved since he was set down, and bends down to his level.

Winwin’s injury is no doubt the worst out of them all and if there is one person’s wounds Jungwoo should not see, it’s Winwin’s. Besides, thanks to that cursed flaw in Winwin’s skin, it’s going to take a lot to get rid of all of that pain for him.

“I have to lift up your shirt and I will have to touch your back. I’m going to need you to fight through the pain for me until it can get a bit better,” Yuta says to Winwin.

The younger makes a groaning sound but that means there’s still some fight left in him. 

Before Yuta can begin healing, a blur appears at the corner of his eye and there stands Mark holding out a box of medical gloves, panting.

“Here...wear these since there’s blood on his back,” Mark says.

Yuta takes the box and puts on a pair.

“Thanks, now go take a seat before you tire yourself out more. Your body may be healing but let’s not put it to the test,” he responds.

Mark takes his words to heart and sits down right where he was standing, trying to catch his breath and ignore the pain in his back.

Yuta turns back to Winwin.

“I’m going to start now. Tell me if it gets too bad, okay,” he says.

Winwin makes a sound that Yuta is going to take as a sound of understanding.

Yuta puts his hands lightly on Winwin’s back and begins to focus on healing. He takes note of each time the younger winces, flinches, or whimpers and tries to make it the least painful as he possibly can. He watches as the redness on his back progressively lightens in color and the wounds begin to look less violent. The more the wounds heal though, the more tired Yuta feels but he can’t show any tiredness yet; he still has seven other people he has to heal.

Finally, the wounds get to a point where they aren’t completely healed but they look much much better than before. Yuta takes it as a stopping place, deciding that he can heal them more later after everyone else is attended to.

Maybe he can heal them all to the point where they aren’t in excruciating pain anymore and then he can rest for a bit before healing them more. If he can get everyone up and standing without them wanting to scream in pain then he did a good enough job for now.

“Alright Haechan, you’re next,” he says.

Their youngest, who is currently resting his head on Johnny, lets out a shaky breath. He tried to keep his pain to himself but he can’t help but be relieved that something is going to be done about it now.

Yuta heads over to him and Haechan, wanting to be very cooperative, already sits up straight and lifts up his shirt. He turns so Yuta can easily see his back.

Yuta tries not to grimace at the sight of Haechan’s back while he changes his gloves. There’s something worse about seeing your youngest in pain. It makes you feel like it was your fault as well even though that rep was just being extremely cruel.

He begins to lightly touch Haechan’s back and once again goes through the healing process. Haechan’s wounds aren’t too too bad so it doesn’t take a lot of energy to heal them but since he was already starting on half of his normal energy, it feels like an eternity’s length of energy used.

As he did with Winwin, he stops just before it’s fully healed but it looks good enough. He hopes they can understand and wait a bit longer until he gets more energy to heal them completely.

“Mark, it’s your turn,” he says.

Mark tries to argue to let someone go first since his body is already healing but Yuta isn’t having it. He just heads back over to Mark and tells him to sit still and Mark is forced to comply.

He heals Mark and Mark is probably the only one who gets completely healed, only because his body was helping out. With Mark completely healed, he’s able to get up and help a bit more even though his energy hasn’t returned yet.

Yuta moves on to healing Jaehyun, followed by Doyoung, followed by Taeyong. 

Taeyong tries to tell him to take a break but he refuses saying that he has to keep going or else he doesn’t know when he’ll be able to start again if he stops. That and he really wants to get to everyone before Jungwoo comes back. Fatigue and nausea aside, he has to keep healing.

When he finishes healing Taeyong, he moves onto Johnny and Taeil, the only two left. His head is spinning, his stomach is turning, and he’s kinda seeing double but he’s so close to being done so he has to keep going.

By the time he finishes healing those two, all his energy is gone. He drops to his knees and shuts his eyes tightly to stop the room from spinning.

“Let’s get him on the sofa.”

Even sounds seem like they’re spinning to him. He wants to throw up when he feels his body being lifted but he tries not to focus on that. Instead, he focuses on the fact that his head is now on someone’s lap (he thinks it is, everything is still spinning too much) and that everyone is pretty much healed.

He doesn’t know how long he’s like that for. He just knows that slowly but surely, the nausea will go away so until then he just has to wait.

After an unknown amount of time, he hears the door open and feels movement pass him so that must mean Jungwoo came back.

“I’ll help put the stuff away,” Mark says.

No doubt besides being helpful, Mark is also doing this to show Jungwoo that he’s alright. He wants to give him some form of comfort.

After everything is put away, they join the others back in the living room and everyone sits there in silence. Whether it is an uncomfortable or comfortable silence, they don’t know but it’s a silence. The only thing they can say about the lack of noise is that there is some sort of charge in the air. It’s as if something has to be said but what is there to be said? What are they supposed to talk about?

There is one thing on someone’s mind actually.

“I’m sorry.”

It’s a soft whisper but through the silence in the room, it’s heard extremely clear. Everyone turns their head to the source of the whisper. Jungwoo.

“I’m sorry I caused this. I’m sorry I got everyone in trouble. I’m sorry,” he says, voice barely going above a soft murmur.

By now, his charm should be off of his vocal cords but he’s too afraid to speak normally. He caused so much damage today, just by speaking. He should just stay quiet, but he has to apologize. It won’t do much but he’ll feel even worse than he does now if he doesn’t apologize.

“You don’t have to apologize, it’s not your fault. It was an honest mistake that any of us could have made,” Taeyong says.

“But I made it. I did it and I’m the reason you all were punished. I didn’t get a single lashing but you guys had to suffer for something I did,” Jungwoo replies.

“And you had to watch. That was just as much as a punishment for you as it was for us. They punished you emotionally. You don’t have to blame yourself and feel like you were the one who deserved it,” Yuta says, forcing himself to sit up.

Though they were the ones hit, they can only imagine what it feels like to sit there and watch their members be beaten. They can only picture how they probably looked on that floor after they were first whipped, how Jungwoo had to see them. That is just as cruel as a punishment as the whipping they’ve received, if not crueler since emotional scars take much longer to heal, if they ever heal.

“You guys shouldn’t have been punished at all. You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s all my fault that it happened. And then afterward I still used my stupid charm on you guys,” Jungwoo says, voice unintentionally raising the slightest bit—still not near normal speaking level though.

It would be one thing if he only got them punished but along with that, he still used his power against them. He willingly took away their free will. He can't forgive himself for that.

“It wasn’t a punishment,” Doyoung says.

Everyone turns to him, confused about his statement. Yes, they’re trying to reassure Jungwoo but they’re pretty sure what they went through was definitely a punishment.

“What do you mean?” Haechan asks.

Doyoung looks away for a moment before gathering the courage to continue on.

“It wasn’t a punishment, it was a warning. What Jungwoo went through was a punishment; he was the only one who was punished. The rest of us, we were warned. They weren’t beating us because we broke some rules. They were beating us to drill into our heads that we are to never use our abilities on them. That was a warning to put fear into us so we won’t ever do that again, accident or not,” he explains.

Jungwoo used his charm on the trainer—admittedly by accident—so he was punished by watching his friends harshly beaten and then made to use his charm on them. It’s why he was singled out from the rest of the group. What they received, however, was a warning for them to not be like Jungwoo.

“Aren’t all punishments fear tactics though? Isn’t to make us afraid to make a mistake the next time?” Mark asks.

“Yes and no. Punishments are to punish us for doing wrong but an aftereffect is that we’re afraid to mess up the next time. Fear isn’t necessarily their goal though. But this time it was. We didn’t break any rules so that’s not really why we were there. Yes, they were going to punish Jungwoo but they could have found multiple ways to do that. They wanted all of us there so we understood that we shouldn’t use our abilities against them because the fact of the matter is that we can. Think about it, they can’t physically stop us if we decided to use our abilities against them. If Jungwoo would have directed his charm towards the rep, there would have been nothing she could have done against that. They know that so they use fear instead to prevent us from even thinking about it,” Doyoung explains.

It’s like taming a dangerous wild animal. The animal is the one with the power to fatally harm a person. But if you use enough force, that animal will think you’re the one in power. 

127 is like that wild animal. They have the power, they’re above regular human standards, but SM uses force and fear to keep them down and think they have no power at all. 

This realization hits the rest of them all at the same time and it’s as if their world was changed.

SM fears the power they created. Their only defense against it is pain and fear, but even pain doesn’t last that long since Yuta can heal them just how he did today. Their only true way of controlling the powers they made is by fear. That’s their only way to maintain their dominance.

“So what you’re saying is that today was just a show of dominance? Something to keep us in line?” Jaehyun asks, not really needing the answer but wanting the confirmation.

Doyoung nods.

“Yes. Us more than anyone they have to keep in line. If another idol rebelled, SM could seriously harm them and create some horrible scandal that would ruin their lives. Other idols not cooperating does not worry them. But we literally have the powers to change their minds. We heal differently than others. They can’t afford for us to rebel,” he says.

They’ve never thought of it like that but then again they were probably too afraid to. With Doyoung’s mind though, he probably couldn’t help but analyze the situation. It was only a matter of time before it became a no brainer to him.

“Don’t hear me wrong though, we still have to follow them even if we technically have the ability not to. I’ve seen their records and ideas on how to keep us in line. We’re strong but we’re not invincible. Not only that, but they’re a few steps away from breaking the agreement and putting the other members through the experiments too, especially now that Dream is getting a lot more popularity. We have to be the best if we want to spare them from that,” he warns.

He’s not telling them this so they could think that they don’t have to follow the rules as religiously as they usually do. They may be technically stronger in many ways than management but SM still holds a lot of cards. If they want to stay safe and keep the ones they care about safe, they have to be good and follow all of the rules.

“This really is a twisted game, isn’t it. Before it was that we had no power whatsoever to stand against them. Now, it’s that we do but we can’t afford to do so or else things will get worse,” Johnny says.

And to them, that’s even worse than being completely helpless.

“So what do we do? I don’t doubt that we’ll be forced back to work in a matter of days so what do we do now?” Taeil says.

Taeyong sighs, fully understanding the weight of everything that happened today. Accident or not, this can never happen again.

“We listen to their warning. They want perfect idols then that’s what we have to be to the best of our abilities. We can’t let things get worse,” Taeyong replies.

If going along with everything and working themselves to the bone will keep each other and the other NCT members safe then that’s what they’ll do. When they joined SM, they didn’t know what they were getting into. They say there’s a price to fame but they didn’t think it would be like this. But it’s too late now to regret everything. Now, they just have to survive and enjoy what they can.

For their sake and for others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you think or stop by to say hi on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/EVXinav)
> 
> Or ask me a question if you want on [Curious Cat](https://curiouscat.me/EvXina)


	10. Two weeks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short chapter but it's good for the boys.

Taeyong wakes up to his phone vibrating.

He groans and grabs his phone, checking the caller ID and time.

A curse comes out of his mouth and he feels like banging his head repeatedly at the sight of the ID. It’s way too early in the morning to be dealing with management.

“Hello,” he answers, trying not to sound groggy or frustrated.

_ “Taeyong, it’s nice to find that you’re awake. Please get here in the next twenty minutes. Just you alone will be fine,” _ the rep says.

It’s 4:57 in the goddamn morning, the day after they were brutally punished. What the hell do they need him for?

He holds back a sigh though so as not to cause any trouble. If they want him there at this time of morning, then he can’t go against it.

“Yes, I can be there,” he responds.

_ “Great, see you soon.” _

The rep hangs up and Taeyong puts down his phone. He buries his face into his pillow and groans. He was not planning on getting out of bed this early in the morning. His body is still sore from yesterday despite Yuta’s healing so, of course, he didn’t want to get out of his soft bed. But he can’t focus on that right now. He only has twenty minutes to get over there and he is not about to push his luck.

So he forces himself out of bed and heads to the bathroom to at least splash some water on his face and brush his teeth. He’ll have to do the rest of his morning routine later.

He tries not to make any noise so as not to wake anyone up as he gets ready. They all need as much sleep as they possibly can get, especially after what happened yesterday.

Dressed in a hoodie, a pair of loose jeans, and a face mask, he quietly leaves the dorm and heads over to where he needs to be as quick as he can.

Fortunately, he makes it in his allotted twenty minutes.

The building is pretty much empty but he already expected that. He knocks on the office door and waits for permission to enter. When he’s allowed to enter, he walks in and is immediately faced with two reps, one of them being the one from yesterday.

Even at this time of morning she is intimidating.

He bows in greeting.

“Taeyong, so glad you can make it. Did you have a good night’s sleep?” The female rep asks.

If he was a bit more sleep deprived, he would have responded how could he get sleep when his back was aching and he was woken up before the sun even rose. But he still has his filter, thank god, so he does not say that.

“I slept, thank you for asking,” he responds.

The answer is favorable if he’s going based on the look on her face. She’s amused, just like she was yesterday when they were getting whipped. She's a twisted lady he's coming to see.

“That’s good to hear. Now, you’re probably wondering why you’re here. We have some news to tell you,” she says.

Majority of the time, news is not a good thing for them. It’s either another thing added to their grueling schedule, a punishment they have to receive, or if they’re unlucky, both. There are only a few occasions where it is actually good news but that really doesn’t happen often. Even the good news sometimes has strings attached to it so not much hope in whatever is about to happen.

He wonders what is this time.

“In light of  _ recent _ events, it was decided that you all will be given the next two weeks off,” the male rep says.

It takes Taeyong’s mind a minute to register what was said. He was so caught up in the way ‘recent events’ was said, thinking that they’re going to receive another punishment, that it took him a moment to realize the part after it.

His eyes widen when the words finally sink in.

“Two weeks? We’re getting two weeks off?” He asks in surprise.

“Yes. The doctors were informed of what happened and said that your member shouldn’t have reached his limit so quickly. That along with your youngest forgetting a dance a bit back, they were frustrated to see that something as trivial as exhaustion could mess with their work. They suggested to give you all ample time off so your abilities can reset themselves and be in tiptop shape when you return. We decided to be very kind and give you two weeks. Is that too long for you?” The female rep says, a deceiving smile on her face at the end.

Taeyong shakes his head no quickly, not wanting to test the devil of a lady.

“No, no. Two weeks is great. Thank you so much for your kindness,” he says, bowing in gratefulness.

“We expect you boys to be in your best condition when you return,” the male rep says.

Taeyong doesn’t know if two weeks is enough to undo the majority of the damage their bodies have been going through lately but they sure as hell will try. It’s not normal at all for them to actually be given a break for this amount of time. This is a blessing. If management wants them in their best shape when they return well then that’s what they’re going to have to give because they do not want management to even think about regretting giving them this time off or thinking it was pointless.

“Of course, we won’t disappoint you. Thank you again,” Taeyong says.

The female rep still has that smile on and he tries not to let it disturb him. Hopefully, he won’t be seeing her for a long while.

“Good, you’re dismissed now,” she says.

Taeyong politely says goodbye and then leaves as quickly as he can. He can’t wait to tell the others the news when they all wake up.

You know what? He’s going to make a nice breakfast for them so they can start the day off well. Their first day of vacation. A whole two weeks vacation. This was worth getting up early.

He goes back to the dorm, glad to see that everyone is still asleep when he returns. He decides to get started on breakfast. It’s a good thing Jungwoo went to the store for them yesterday. Now, he has plenty to cook a good breakfast to kick off their two weeks vacation.

In a good mood and with good news, he starts cooking with a smile on his face.

Eventually, one by one the others start to wake up to the smell of food. Groggy, sore, and a bit under the weather emotionally, they all file into the kitchen to see Taeyong happily cooking.

“What’s the occasion?” Johnny asks, rubbing his eye sleepily.

Taeyong hums pleasantly.

“Have a seat. I’ll tell you all once the food is all done,” he responds.

They do as he says, taking a seat as he finishes up breakfast. Whatever the situation is, it must be good if it put Taeyong in such a good mood this early in the morning. They won't complain though, breakfast is breakfast and a good mood is rare as of late. They need some good spirit in this dorm after everything management does to ruin it.

Ten minutes later, Taeyong is all done with the food and serving everyone. They sit together, the mood definitely feeling lighter than yesterday.

“So, now can we know what’s the occasion for this type of breakfast?” Jaehyun asks in a joking tone.

Taeyong gives a soft smile in response.

“Alright but you all better hold on to your seats,” he says.

He and the others laugh as Donghyuck and Mark literally grab on to their seats at the same time as a joke.

“Very funny you two. Now, the reason for the breakfast is because I was given good news,” Taeyong says.

“Really? What’s the good news?” Yuta asks.

Taeyong’s smile widens a bit more as he watches to see their reaction once he tells them.

“We were given two weeks off,” he says.

It’s a strong mixture of reactions that make Taeyong jump in his seat a bit. Some of them stood up quickly, some of them stopped eating and dropped their utensils, and two of them even started choking on their food a bit. And all of it happened at the same time, giving him a startle.

“Wait, are you serious?” Doyoung says in near disbelief.

“Very serious. I was called in earlier this morning. Two reps—one of them was the one from yesterday—they told me that we have the next two weeks off,” Taeyong responds.

Now they’re all staring at him with wide eyes. They can’t believe their ears, they’re getting two weeks off.

“Not that I’m not grateful for it but why are we getting time off?” Sicheng asks.

No one can blame him for the question. Management usually doesn’t do anything nice for them unless they are expecting something in return that is really going to be a struggle. There were too many times where good news came with strings attached so it makes sense that they’re cautious about this blessing.

“They said that the doctors were informed of what happened yesterday. Apparently, Jungwoo shouldn’t have reached his limit that quickly and they are displeased that it seems that our exhaustion is causing our abilities to mess up—they’re also looking back to what happened before with Haechan. So they told the reps to give us ample time to rest so our abilities can reset themselves. That’s why we were given two weeks off,” Taeyong explains.

For once, the doctors and their horrible obsession with their abilities came in handy. It got them much-needed time off.

“So we’re off off, right? Like no schedule whatsoever? A vacation?” Donghyuck asks.

Taeyong nods.

“That’s what it seems. They don’t want to risk our abilities not working so they are giving us time off. We are expected to be in our best condition when we return but we can deal with that later. For now, we are officially on a rest. Two weeks off,” he says.

The idea finally settles in their mind and they just can’t believe it. They’re actually getting time off to rest. No work, no unexpected schedule additions, no pressure. They get to relax.

“Wow, miracles do happen,” Taeil says.

A miracle indeed. They didn’t think they would ever get a moment of rest and now they’re getting two weeks. Maybe there is some good luck still left in the world. Not a lot for them but still some.

“What do you guys think we should do? It has been a while since we’ve had time to ourselves,” Mark says.

It’s been longer than “a while” actually. They wonder if their bodies even remember what it’s like to not work.

“I don’t know about you guys but I’m going back to sleep after this. Today is a good day to let our bodies rest and sleep,” Johnny says.

“Sleeping more sounds like a good idea,” Jungwoo replies.

After everything that has happened yesterday, letting their body catch up on all of the sleep they’ve lost these past few weeks actually sounds like a heavenly idea. They need all of the sleep they can get. They have two weeks, they have time to do other things—and they’ll make sure that they do do other things—but for now, they should let their body recover from the stress it’s been put through, especially considering yesterday’s punishment/warning. Sleep sounds like a great idea in every way.

“Well then it’s settled, NCT 127 is having nap time after breakfast,” Jaehyun says with a chuckle.

They all cheer in good spirits, looking forward to just relaxing and sleeping.

Maybe tomorrow they’ll start thinking of things they want to do and get to it. After all, they haven’t had free time in who knows how long. No doubt, they all have ideas about what they would like to do for the next two weeks. They’re going to take full advantage of this time and use it to the fullest and to the best of their abilities. It’s the vacation they’ve been dying for so they are going to treasure it. It really is the miracle they were waiting for.

Today though, today is for sleeping.

Finally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/EVXinav)
> 
> [Curious Cat](https://curiouscat.me/EvXina)


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